Islamabad, Pakistan: Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, while hearing the lifetime disqualification case on Thursday observed that “those who made the country hostage are again contesting the election”.
His observations are an excellent explanation of what the country is facing today. The time has testified that those who were allegedly involved and were seen and heard in videos while directing PTI followers to attack military installations are now running for forthcoming General Elections 2024 and even those who were absconders since May 9, 2023, like Zartaj Gull, are appearing before the courts and getting relief to contest forthcoming General Elections 2024. Is it not true that the state of Pakistan has compromised over what happened on May 9, 2023 mutiny day?
Although eight months have passed, no one who was involved in the May 9, 2023 mutiny has been punished so far because the fate of their cases is hanging between the debate of whether their trial should be in civilian courts or military courts. Do we remember that culprits involved in the Capitol Hill attack that was far lesser than the May 9, 2023 mutiny in nature got punishments instantly spreading from 18 years in imprisonment to 10 years in jail? The US example confirms that nations cannot live long unless they believe in a crime and punishment relationship. A great number of PTI candidates who were involved in the May 9 mutiny are not only running for General Elections 2024 but they are claiming that they were not responsible for any mutiny and that whatever had on this unfortunate day was the natural reaction that came after the hearing the news of the arrest of their cult leader Imran Khan.
How can PTI demand a level playing field after conducting a May 9 mutiny? Several questions are still unanswered about what is going on in the country
This is unfortunate to mention that the nomination papers of many of the accused of May 9, 2023, were rejected on technical grounds (false information/approver not from same constituency/default in utility bills, etc) but nobody is raising the issue of how such people could be allowed to contest election who made May 9, 2023 mutiny possible? This sense of nationhood at last had come from the SC Chief Justice himself while Returning Officers did not think about this very important point. SC Chief Justice who is remembering everything that happened in the last year is one of the main targets of the PTI “discredit campaign” and PTI slur brigades are using inappropriate rather filthy language against the Chief Justice in social media while the state is facing failure to find and try such elements who are running campaigns against him. Strangely, even the interim government is silent to comment on how people involved in the May 9 mutiny could be allowed to contest the General Elections 2024. In one of his interviews with foreign media, the interim prime minister indicated that Imran Khan could contest the election. Was Imran Khan not the main architect for May 9, 2023? If yes, how could the interim prime minister say that Imran Khan can contest the election even after executing mutiny in the country, and why did the interim PM say that every political party including PTI would be provided a “level playing field”? How can PTI demand a level playing field after conducting a May 9 mutiny? Several questions are still unanswered about what is going on in the country. It looks like everybody except people like Chief Justice Isa and COAS Gen Asim Munir are not ready to forget and forgive those who were behind the May 9 events therefore they are the targets of PTI slur brigades.
Discrediting everyone who does not bow down to the PTI slur brigade has become a norm in Pakistan since Project Imran was designed. This strategy and practice are the steering force behind the political narrative of former prime minister Imran Khan. A fresh campaign for discrediting Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa, state institutions like the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Pakistan Army is on but now its spectrum is expanding and nowadays even seasoned supreme court reporters like Abdul Qayyum Siddiqui are also victims of fairytales crafted by PTI social media brigades. PTI is claiming that the “London Plan” is entering into the final stage and Abdul Qayyum Siddiqui is in London for a special assignment on behalf of some. Out of this fairytale PTI wants to establish that since Abdul Qayyum Siddiqui has cordial relations with Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa therefore directly or indirectly Justice Qazi Faez Isa is also a component of this so-called “London Plan” and Siddiqui is on some special assignment with the consultation of CJP Justice Isa.
When contacted in London for his comments, Abdul Qayyum Siddiqui refused to comment and just said:
“PTI is habitual of crafting tales to discredit people and institutions and such tales are so wild that one must not waste time to respond them”.
Since the General Elections 2024 are approaching closer, PTI is extensively using the victim card claiming that the military establishment wants to keep PTI out of the run and that is the reason that Returning Officers are rejecting the nomination papers of its candidates although figures indicate that compared to other political parties, maximum nomination papers accepted by Returning officers are from PTI.
Nomination papers of some of the PTI leaders were rejected on technical grounds and these technical grounds were provided deliberately by the PTI. Can anybody believe that former prime minister Imran Khan and his legal team comprising of a dozen barristers and hundreds of lawyers do not know that the seconder and approver of nomination papers of a candidate for General elections must be a resident of the same constituency from their candidate is contesting elections? Of course, neither he nor his team is so stupid. The next question is why PTI projected that the nomination papers of its candidates that had the same fallacies were rejected. The answer is simple PTI wanted to build up a situation in which it accused state institutions of political victimization. On the surface, PTI is successful in sending a message all around that it is a target therefore it would use the “victim card” before and even after polling day.
Several senior journalists claim that PTI had already established that it is the target of pre-poll. They believe that in the post-poll phase, PTI would reject election results and will immediately go for country-wide protest. Many such journalists further claim that PTI has consultation services from officials (who might not be in service now) who made it a winning party in the 2018 general elections. These journalists also express their fears that PTI is planning the May 9 Mutiny Part-II by building hatred against the state institutions. Empirical evidence indicates that such fears are not baseless and the recent video message of Jamshed Dasti, blaming CTD officials for undressing his wife can be a “Full Dress rehearsal” of what it had planned for fanning sentiments of its followers against state agencies.
A senior journalist and vlogger Rizwan Razi is of the view that PTI had already planned another “May 9 Mutiny- Part II” with the support of those who were also behind the May 9, 2023 mutiny. He believes that PTI planning for May 9 Mutiny Part-II is multilayered and he had already exposed how PTI would manipulate polling day events and then launch country-wide protests in Defence Housing societies and cantonment areas in the first phase. He is of the view that state institutions should take the situation seriously and any loose grip over the situation would cost too much to the repute of state institutions because PTI according to him would invite hundreds of Western media men and election observers of its choice who would support PTI’s allegations in foreign media.
