PTI chief Imran Khan got two bits of good news on Wednesday. His party became a parliamentary party when the Election Commission of Pakistan notified that 79 MNAs were PTI members because their forms had contained that identification. The Lahore High Court granted his appeal against his being arrested in the May 9 incidents, with the division bench noting that the arrests were made after his appeal against conviction in the iddat case had been accepted. The implications was that this was a ploy to keep him behind bars. However, neither decision has had the effect of catapulting Mr Khan from Adiala Jail, where he is presently incarcerated, into the Prime Ministers seat in the National Assembly, as devoutly wished by his many fans. However, both developments should be seen as the beginning of a process that may well have that effect.
It should be remembered that the PTI members, as they now are, could not contest on the party’s symbol, and the ECP had to treat them as independents. The MNAs who had indicated a party affiliation had been accepted as PTI members, while the MNAs elected as independent, who had not mentioned a party affiliation, and had not submitted any ticket for the party symbol, will need to have their party affiliation verified. The ECP has approached the Supreme Court for clarifications about who will be the officebearer to verify the party affiliation of those independents, considering that they had not been allocated the symbol because no officebearer was accepted by the ECP. That might all be very well, but the Supreme Court showed that it was more concerned with reality rather than appearance. The reality is that the PTI won big in the election, and while the MNAs-elect may well be technically independents, the will of the people must be accepted.
The LHC decision may not, to the chagrin of many PTI supporters, result in Mr Khan sweeping out of jail, but it brings that moment closer. It is clearly a matter of time, for the LHC took notice of how the charge had been made earlier, but the arrest was only now being made. That means the old game of a fresh case whenever someone gets bail or is acquitted, can no longer be played. It is perhaps hard lines on the current executive to lose that tool, but there it is.
