On Thursday, the PTI accused intelligence agencies of meddling in the affairs of parliamentarians but expressed confidence that attempts to break or ban the opposition party would not succeed.
The PTI reminded that the Supreme Court had recognized it as a political party and warned against invoking Article 6 against Imran Khan or banning the party.
After visiting Imran Khan at Adiala Jail, Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan told reporters that the former prime minister had affirmed PTI’s commitment to its struggle for “haqeeqi azadi” (real freedom). He urged the government to focus on public issues like high inflation instead of targeting PTI.
Ayub Khan also accused the caretaker government of profiting from wheat imports and suggested that the current rulers were looking to gain from privatization. He alleged that the Special Investment Facilitation Council aimed to raise Rs30 billion by privatizing national assets valued over Rs1,000 billion.
He claimed that intelligence officials had interfered during meetings between PTI leaders and Imran Khan and urged a focus on counterterrorism efforts instead. He warned that Islamabad and Punjab police, the interior secretary, and the superintendent of Adiala Jail might face scrutiny by the parliamentary privilege committee.
In response to a query, Ayub Khan suggested that Article 6 should be applied to the Chief Election Commissioner rather than Imran Khan.
PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan warned that any punitive measures against the party would harm the country and announced that PTI would hold a public meeting in the federal capital.
At a press conference, PTI’s legal team urged retired judges to decline offers to become ad hoc judges of the Supreme Court, asserting that such decisions should be made by the incoming chief justice. Advocate Shoaib Shaheen argued that appointing ad hoc judges was illegal unless permanent judges were unavailable. He questioned whether failure to implement the Supreme Court’s decision on reserved seats would be considered contempt of court. Advocate Ishtiaq A. Khan called for postponing the upcoming Judicial Commission of Pakistan meeting.
The PTI and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) jointly rejected the government’s plan to ban PTI and pursue legal action against Imran Khan under Article 6. They demanded that Article 6 be used against those who have violated the Constitution and laws over the past two years.
During a joint meeting, the PTI and SIC condemned the alleged mistreatment of PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi during his transfer to Lahore. They opposed the appointment of ad hoc judges, claiming it was an attempt to undermine the Supreme Court’s structure for creating an artificial majority. They also criticized the detention of PTI MNAs Moazzam Jatoi and Sahibzada Amir Sultan as a breach of parliamentary traditions, as lawmakers cannot be arrested without the National Assembly speaker’s consent.
Later, Ayub Khan moved a privilege motion in the National Assembly, alleging that on July 4, he, along with Shibli Faraz, Junaid Akbar, and other parliamentarians, were asked to leave Adiala Jail by an ASI on the orders of the ISI sector commander of Rawalpindi/Islamabad.
