The PTI has had another first. It has held the first ever online general body meeting of a political party in Pakistan, if not in the world, adding to the first ever Artificial Intelligence-generated video-clip of an address (by Chairman Imran Khan to a ‘virtual rally’ at the beginning of the current election campaign) and the first ever AI-generated article (Mr Khan’s article from jail for The Economist). Even though there is less than a week left until the polling day, Mr Khan has taken his election petitions against the rejection of his nomination papers by three Returning Officers to the Supreme Court, where they have been returned with instructions to remove the lacunae contained in them. Even if the Supreme Court was to give them immediate hearing and grant immediate relief, the Election Commission of Pakistan had earlier announced that it was going ahead with the printing of ballot papers. The has twice before ignored Supreme Court instructions, and may well do so another time. It is also relevant that since the original disqualification by the ECP because of the conviction in the asset concealment case, Mr Khan has been convicted in two more cases.
It almost seems that the PTI is preparing itself for life after the elections. Mr Khan had his papers rejected by three different ROs. Those rejections were upheld on appeal by an Election Tribunal of the Lahore High Court, and a further appeal has gone to the Supreme Court, in the hope that he will be declared eligible. Now he might miss out on the election itself, but even without anyone resigning, there should be a large number of by-elections against seats given up by winners of more than one seat, and a path to Parliament would be opened.
Another decision that the PTI seems to have taken is to get back its symbol. Its general body meeting was originally held in person in Islamabad, at its Secretariat, but was allegedly dispersed by the police. The online meeting appointed Gohar Ayub Khan as chief organizer and empowered him to name a chief election commissioner, to which post he appointed Mr Raoof Hassan. Once elections are held to various posts, the party’s election symbol can then be issued. That means that the PTI will be able to give tickets for all by-elections in the coming Parliament. The PTI is trying to prove there is life after February 9.
