Imran fears SC ruling may pave way for floor crossing

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan voiced concerns on Friday regarding the possibility that the Supreme Court might enable floor crossing by overturning the decision on Article 63-A.

Speaking to reporters after a corruption case hearing at the accountability court, the leader of the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) criticized the ruling elite for undermining the rule of law and democracy to maintain their hold on power.

Referring to the recent detailed judgment concerning reserved seats, Imran Khan said the eight judges stated that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) acted with bias regarding the PTI’s election symbol.

Khan claimed that the PTI was unjustly deprived of reserved seats and accused the judiciary of protecting what he termed “fraudulent elections.”

He further asserted that a “plan” had been orchestrated by “three umpires and three players,” and expressed frustration when a judge showed discontent over the failure to cross-examine a witness in a £190 million corruption case.

He warned the Chief Election Commissioner that he could face charges under Article 6 for orchestrating elections.

Additionally, Khan pointed out that the ECP annulled three intra-party elections within the PTI while ignoring irregularities in the intra-party elections of rival parties such as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Khan claimed that everything was premeditated by the “three umpires and three players,” with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)—an alliance of parties including PML-N, PPP, and MQM-P—also complicit in the arrangements.

He accused Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa of having already plotted an extension of his term, suggesting that both the CEC and CJP were “partners.” He noted that Justice Isa did not call in the former commissioner of Rawalpindi despite his confession regarding election rigging, recalling that the commissioner had been abducted following his shocking revelations during a press conference.

Imran Khan further added that the “third umpire” was also seeking an extension of his service which is not possible without PDM support.

Khan announced plans for nationwide protests and encouraged citizens to participate in the movement, mentioning that local authorities had been hesitant to grant a no-objection certificate for the PTI gatherings.