Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari has strongly criticized the Supreme Court decision on the reserved seats of the PTI, calling it "the darkest day in the history of Pakistan".
In a press conference held in Lahore, Bukhari alleged that the ruling provided relief to former prime minister Imran Khan, as he had been provided relief earlier under Article 63(a), similar to previous reliefs granted to dictators, including former president Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf.
"Yesterday it was said that there is a lot of interference by agencies and there was trouble surviving," Bukhari said, adding that when there is actually interference from agencies then cases like Panama leaks are filed and daughters are arrested in front of their fathers.
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The minister questioned the impartiality of the decision, suggesting it was predetermined. She further said former ministers Fawad Chaudhry and Miftah Ismail had said the decision was meant for a re-election. She also referenced a tweet by Shahzad Akbar that seemingly predicted the verdict a day in advance, asking, "Who said a day ago that the decision will be announced with an 8-5 majority?"
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The mistakes of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which should have been corrected by their lawyers, were corrected by the judges, Bukhari alleged.
The minister expressed concern about the constitutional implications of the decision, particularly regarding floor crossing. She stated, "It is clear that floor crossing cannot be done. Yesterday they allowed constitutional floor crossing to join PTI," and questioned under which section of the election law this would be permissible.
The minister also questioned how the judges said that the PTI is and was a political party.
