The PTI’s reserved seats were the subject of a recent Supreme Court decision that Minister Azma Bukhari sharply attacked, alleging bias and premeditation in the ruling. She referred to the verdict as “the darkest day in the history of Pakistan” during a Lahore press conference. Drawing comparisons to other cases where relief was granted under Article 63(a) to individuals such as Pakistan’s former President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, whom she called tyrants, Bukhari claimed that the ruling favored former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Bukhari emphasized worries about agency meddling by bringing up earlier instances like the contentious arrests and the Panama leaks, suggesting a pattern of intervention influencing court decisions. She cited quotes from former ministers and a prescient tweet about the verdict from Shahzad Akbar, suggesting that the outcome had been anticipated or influenced.
Bukhari also took issue with what she saw as excessive judicial intervention in rectifying errors committed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that their own attorneys ought to have handled. She raised questions about the court’s authority to allow such conduct under election regulations and raised constitutional problems, namely with relation to floor crossing.
Additionally, the minister questioned the legitimacy of the PTI’s standing and party history, casting doubt on the court’s assessment of the party as a genuine political body.