I would like to talk about the decision made by the Supreme Court on the appeal made by the
Elec?on Commission. Ever since this decision was announced, some so-called journalists have been
sharing their cri?ques. Although they agree with the decision made by the judge on removing the
bat symbol from PTI, however they have been bringing forward the point about the ‘Law of
Necessity’ that was put forward during the rule of Zia-ul-Haq. Based on their comments, these
journalists believe that although the lawyers of PTI did not defend their case very well, but since they
are such a huge poli?cal party, they should have been pardoned this ?me and allowed to keep the
bat symbol during the upcoming elec?ons.
Firstly, the court does not make any poli?cal decisions. They simply look at the facts, arguments and
evidence presented by the lawyers and then make an informed decision. They need sa?sfactory
evidence and answers before making a decision, and the lawyers of PTI were given many chances to
bring forward atleast some evidence for their arguments, but failed to do so. In fact, 80% of the
journalists who are commen?ng on this decision actually believe that the lawyers of PTI were not
able to defend the case and fight against the points put forward by the lawyer from the Elec?on
Commission’s end.
Secondly, I would like to say that all these journalists presen?ng their comments and cri?ques don’t
even have any proper degree in the field and are now posing as journalists on television and social
media. They don’t have basic knowledge about the in’s and outs of journalism, yet they have made it
their career and have become millionaires because of it. Some of these so-called journalists used to
be waiters in 5-star hotels or run a fruit thela, and now they are passing cri?que on the laws and
decisions made by the Supreme Court.
Thirdly, which raise the point of the journalist in Pakistan, all poli?cal par?es like PML (N), PPP, ANP
and other arranged elec?on like the same way. I am fully agreed with this point, yes all the poli?cal
par?es held an elec?on like these way but at the moment of elec?on, no body challenged the
elec?on of any poli?cal party members but in this case many PTI founder members challenged the
party elec?on and specially S. Akbar Babar struggle since 2014 behavior of PTI leaders about funding
case and also elec?on. In my point, PTI Senior leadership resolved very simply way these issues when
they rule the Pakistan all authori?es with them and they arranged a simple elec?on mee?ng like
other par?es and if they think some of members are against the cons?tu?on of PTI, they can easily
remove them. But at the moment, they did not have any wri?en proof against these members.
Coming back to the hearing, I heard at-least 80% of the live coverage. The case went on for a total of
20 hours, spread between two days, although it should have been winded up in about 1-2 hours. It is
required by the elec?on commission to have an elec?on in every 5 years and they asked PTI to hold
one back in 2021, but they refused to do so due to COVID. Then again, they were asked in 2022 to
hold an elec?on, which was also not taken seriously. The members of the party had a lot of ego and
believed that no one could do anything against them, which is why they con?nued to ignore the
demands made by the elec?on commission.
During the hearing yesterday, the lawyer from PTI stated that they held an elec?on in Punjab. The
judge asked for single evidence to prove this fact. Infact, Musrat Hilali raised a point that they should
be able to provide a slip for the Rs.50,000 fees that is required to be paid by all the nominees
standing for elec?ons. My point here is that any ques?on that was asked by the opposi?on party, the
lawyer of PTI was unable to answer or defend. Whether inten?onal or non-inten?onal, they kept
making their own case quite weak.
The members of PTI have a lot of ego and over-confidence, which has been their downfall. I believe
that the decision made by Supreme court, based on the evidence and facts provided, it quite correct.
I personally don’t have any affilia?on with any poli?cal party, but I believe in jus?ce and decisions
made a?er analyzing all evidence. The lawyers from both ends were given an opportunity to put
forward their facts and figures, and one clearly failed to do so. Makhdoom Ali Khan handled his case
very well and had hard facts and evidence for all the points he raised forward.
At the end, I would like to say that these so-called journalists should refrain from making such
comments since they don’t have the right degree or knowledge and are just si?ng on television
shows, passing cri?que and earning millions from it. PTI put a nail in their coffin by using a weak
lawyer to defend their case, who clearly did not have the necessary skills or knowledge to fight for
them. Instead of blaming the judge for the decision, they should look at their own faults and try to
rec?fy them, so they have a be?er chance to succeed in the future.
If you look at the past of our chief jus?ce, Qazi Faez Isa, he has an amazing track record. When
everyone was against him, he held out on his own and with the help of Allah, he succeeded. Ever
since he became chief jus?ce, he has held live telecasts for all his hearings, so the general public can
be aware about everything and all the proceedings of the court. I pray to Allah that our chief jus?ce
is successful in his right of passage, as his decisions are always fare and he does not shy away from
making hard decisions.
BY : Shaikh Manzar Alam
Ex-Chairman Korangi Associa?on of Trade & Industry
Ex-Director Pakistan Na?onal Shipping Corpora?on
Ex-Director Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan
Email: shaikh.manzar@gmail.com
Cell: 0332-2221693.
