- Asserts decision made with hope of ‘taking country towards a bright future’
- Calls on institutions to work within constitutional limits, saying working beyond mandate always create problems
LAHORE: Senior legal expert and former Punjab governor Sardar Latif Khosa on Sunday formally parted ways with PPP and joined the PTI, saying he had made the decision with the hope of “taking the country towards a bright future.”
The announcement was made at a press conference in Lahore, where Khosa appeared with a PTI flag slung around his shoulders. The PTI also shared a video of Khosa on X (formerly Twitter), saying he had “formally” joined the party.
Speaking to the media, the veteran lawyer, who has been representing PTI founder Imran Khan in several cases, asserted he had taken the step with the hope of taking the country towards a “beautiful” future.
Senior Advocate of Supreme Court and Former Governor of Punjab Sardar Latif Khosa has formally joined PTI. pic.twitter.com/3FYqbx6q6Y
— PTI Politics Update (@PTI_Politics) December 17, 2023
“The world says that people do press conferences to leave [the party] and you are doing a press conference to join it,” he quipped, referring to the manner in which several PTI leaders had quit the party in the aftermath of the May 9 violence.
“I am doing this deliberately. If rendering services for your mother country makes you a lunatic, then yes I am a lunatic,” he said. He further said that one should not be fearful to speak the truth, adding that life, death, honour, respect and sustenance were all in God’s hands.
“Why should anyone be scared? These are our institutions. This is our army. Their limits are defined within the Constitution. They are paid through the taxes given by the Pakistani people — be it army generals, judges or the bureaucracy. Their real owners are the people who pay taxes,” he said.
He called on institutions to work within their constitutional limits, adding that problems arose when one interfered in matters beyond its mandate.
Talking about elections, Khosa appreciated Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa for eradicating the speculation around the Feb 8 polls. At the same time, he also said that he wished the CJP had directed for returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) to be from the judiciary.
Khosa condemned the arrest of PTI’s Sher Afzal Marwat, who was apprehended from outside the Lahore High Court on Thursday. “This is a sanctuary of peace and justice […] I was ashamed,” he said.
He said that the Lahore deputy commissioner was a relative of the “chairtaker” Punjab chief minister. He said that Marwat’s detention order said that he had the “potential to create a law and order situation”.
“Can you detain him for 30 days over this? That he has the potential, the capacity to create a law and order situation?” he asked. He said that if such officials were made ROs and DROs, then they would go to any extent for “favourable” results.
Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Gohar Khan said he was “delighted” to welcome Khosa in the party. He congratulated him on joining a political party that “despite setbacks and tough times, has remained true to its democratic values — values of liberty, equality and justice for all”.
Another Imran’s lawyer Naeem Haider Panjutha welcomed Khosa to the PTI, saying that it would strengthen the party. He further said that the senior lawyer had raised his voice against oppression even when he was not associated with the party.
In September, the PPP had suspended Khosa’s party membership and also ousted him from its central executive committee (CEC). PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari said the decision was taken after Khosa had failed to reply to a show-cause notice issued to him by the party.
Khosa was issued a show-cause notice by the PPP for “defending/pleading and representing the head of another political party without prior approval of party leadership”.
Although the letter did not mention anyone by name, it was a clear reference to Imran Khan. Khosa was representing the PTI founder in several cases registered against him. Earlier the same month, Khosa had been served a show-cause notice for giving a statement in favour of Imran.
