ISLAMABAD: Leaders from the Sunni Ittehad Council and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have announced their decision to challenge the recent Election Act amendment that prohibits party members from changing their party affiliation.
During a session in the National Assembly, PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan criticized the legislation, claiming it was a tactic to undermine the Supreme Court. He argued that the law infringes on fundamental rights and deprives members of the freedom to change their political allegiance. Khan emphasized that while legislation is necessary, it must serve Pakistan’s best interests. He indicated that they would seek judicial review, accusing the law of promoting the fascism of a particular political party.
Ali Muhammad questioned whether the Parliament could be used by a political party to attack the Supreme Court for its political gains.
He said that his party could not be convicted for something it had done in the past even if the government moves forward with law-making against it.
“If my party is being granted a right through a Supreme Court order […] How can you make a new law after the Supreme Court’s order and deny us that right?” Ali Muhammad said.
“We are protesting […] We reject this bill. This is an attack on the SC through the parliament by the government,” he said, adding that lawmaking should be done for the benefit of the country.
“We will go to the SC against it and this lawmaking will be nullified because the Parliament is not standing behind this, there’s a political party behind it,” he said.
Sahibzada Sibghatullah of the Sunni Ittehad Council echoed these sentiments, labeling the bill as an attack on both the Constitution and the Supreme Court.
He criticized the ruling party for pushing the legislation through Parliament by leveraging its majority, calling it a blow to democracy that would strain relations between the legislature and the judiciary.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar also voiced opposition, stating that the party would challenge the law in the Supreme Court. He mentioned that they had filed four applications with the Election Commission regarding specific seats, highlighting their strong electoral mandate with a two-thirds majority. Gohar asserted that while Parliament holds supremacy, the Supreme Court retains the authority to interpret the Constitution.
