Imran Khan's party to sit in Opposition in Pakistan's Parliament; to protest against poll rigging
Islamabad (PTI): Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party has decided to sit in the Opposition in Parliament while launching a countrywide protest against alleged rigging in the elections after its efforts to form the next government failed.
The major political parties in Pakistan have stepped up efforts to form a federal government after the February 8 elections delivered a split verdict.
While Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party-backed independent candidates dominated the election results, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) claimed to have enough numbers to form the government as some independents joined the Nawaz Sharif-led party post-polls.
PTI leader Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif announced on Friday that following the instructions of PTI founder Khan, the party has decided to sit in the Opposition both at the Centre and in the key province of Punjab.
The decision came a day after the party had named Umar Ayub Khan as its candidate for the prime minister and Aslam Iqbal as chief minister for Punjab.
Talking to the media on Friday night after visiting the Qaumi Watan Party in Islamabad, Saif said that the party decided to sit in the Opposition in the Centre and Punjab under the instructions of party founder Khan.
"We decided to sit in Opposition despite the reality that if we received seats according to our votes and the results were not changed then maybe today we might have been in the Centre with 180 seats. We have the evidence that our candidates won," he said.
The party, which also issued a white paper against alleged rigging on Friday, has decided to kick off its demonstrations from Saturday.
A PTI source said that the party's incarcerated founder has tasked former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser with engaging political parties to muster support for the protest drive.
A PTI delegation led by Qaisar met the leader of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) on Friday, while a meeting with Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party's Mehmood Khan Achakzai is scheduled to take place on Saturday.
Qaiser-led delegation also met Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Mian Muhammad Aslam and discussed the post-election scenario.
The delegation sought JI's support for joint protests against the alleged rigging.
It was not clear if the party would participate in the election of the prime minister and Punjab chief minister after the decision to join the opposition ranks.
Khan's party claimed that at least 85 seats won by it in Parliament were snatched in the "biggest voter fraud" in the country's history and announced plans to hold "peaceful" nationwide protests on Saturday against alleged rigging.
PTI's core committee met on Friday and finalised the plans for the nationwide protest campaign on the call of the party's founder Khan.
The meeting urged the whole nation to come out of their houses against the "massive rigging". The meeting also sought the resignation of the chief election commissioner.
Independent candidates - a majority backed by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) - won 93 of the 265 National Assembly seats that were contested in the February 8 election.
However, PTI's two main rivals appear on course to form a coalition government after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) formed a post-poll alliance on Tuesday.
The PML-N won 75 seats while the PPP came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has also agreed to support them with their 17 seats.
To form a government, a party must win 133 seats out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly.
Khan declared on Friday will not seek political vengeance upon returning to power.
"We will not take any political revenge, but we will take the country and the nation forward for the sake of the development of the country and the nation," he stated, as conveyed by PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan following a 30-minute long meeting with Imran Khan at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail.
PTI's Information Secretary Raoof Hasan and other leaders including Sher Afzal Marwat, Rehana Dar, Shoaib Shaheen and Salman Akram Raja, who challenged their election results before various forums, addressed a press conference here.
Hasan said that 2024 would be remembered due to the "biggest voter fraud" in Pakistan's history against the party and its candidates.
"According to our estimates, out of 177 [National Assembly] seats which were supposed to be ours, only 92 have been given to us. And 85 seats have been taken away from us fraudulently," he said.
He said that the party was taking constitutional and legal steps to counter the rigging and get its right.
"We have verified data about 46 seats and it is being compiled for 39 seats," he said.
Hasan also highlighted the discrepancies between Form 45 and Form 47, which respectively deal with counting in each polling station in a constituency and the overall count of all polling stations.
Hasan claimed there was a huge difference in the numbers of votes polled for National Assembly and provincial assembly seats. He said that the number of rejected votes, in certain cases, exceeded the margin of victory.
Separately, Hasan affirmed the party's readiness for dialogue with the establishment, emphasising that the purpose of contacting political parties is not to form an electoral alliance but to bring all political forces together on a unified platform.
Speaking on the Express Tribune newspaper, Hasan highlighted that PTI's founder has consistently advocated for engaging with all political parties. He emphasised that if political parties engage in positive politics, there is no harm in holding meetings and fostering collaboration.
"The purpose of contacting political parties is not at all an electoral alliance; our aim is that all political parties come together on one platform," stated Hasan during the programme.
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Deep societal faultlines persist despite 75 years of independence: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
Judge cites denial of home to Muslim girl, opposition to Dalit women cooking mid-day meals
Hyderabad, February 23, 2026: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has said that despite repeated affirmations of constitutional morality by courts, deep societal faultlines rooted in caste and religious discrimination continue to shape everyday realities in India.
Speaking at a seminar on “Constitutional Morality and the Role of District Judiciary” organised by the Telangana Judges Association and the Telangana State Judicial Academy in Hyderabad, Justice Bhuyan reflected on the gap between constitutional ideals and social practices.
He cited a recent instance involving his daughter’s friend, a PhD scholar at a private university in Noida, who was denied accommodation in South Delhi after her surname revealed her Muslim identity. According to Justice Bhuyan, the landlady bluntly informed her that no accommodation was available once her religious background became known.
In another example from Odisha, he referred to resistance by some parents to the government’s mid-day meal programme because the food was prepared by Dalit women employed as cooks. He noted that some parents had objected aggressively and refused to allow their children to consume meals cooked by members of the Scheduled Caste community.
Describing these incidents as “the tip of the iceberg,” Justice Bhuyan said they reveal how far society remains from the benchmark of constitutional morality even 75 years into the Republic. He observed that while the Constitution lays down standards of equality and dignity, the morality practised within homes and communities often diverges sharply from those values.
He emphasised that constitutional morality requires governance through the rule of law rather than the rule of popular opinion. Referring to the evolution of the doctrine through judicial decisions, he cited Naz Foundation v Union of India, in which the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, holding that popular morality cannot restrict fundamental rights under Article 21. Though the judgment was later overturned in Suresh Kumar Koushal v Naz Foundation, the Supreme Court ultimately restored and expanded the principle in Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India, affirming that constitutional morality must prevail over majoritarian views.
“In our constitutional scheme, it is the constitutionality of the issue before the court that is relevant, not the dominant or popular view,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also addressed the functioning of the district judiciary, underlining that trial courts are the first point of contact for most litigants and form the foundation of the justice delivery system. He stressed that due importance must be given to the recording of evidence and adjudication of bail matters.
Highlighting the role of High Courts, he said their supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution is intended as a shield to correct grave jurisdictional errors, not as a mechanism to substitute the discretion or factual appreciation of trial judges.
He recalled that several distinguished judges, including Justice H R Khanna, Justice A M Ahmadi, and Justice Fathima Beevi, began their careers in the district judiciary.
On representation within the judicial system, Justice Bhuyan noted that Telangana has made significant strides in gender inclusion. Out of a sanctioned strength of 655 judicial officers in the Telangana Judicial Service, 478 are currently serving, of whom 283 are women, exceeding 50 per cent representation. He added that members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority communities, and persons with disabilities are also represented in the state’s judiciary.
He observed that greater representation of women, marginalised communities, persons with disabilities, and sexual minorities would help make the judiciary more inclusive and reflective of India’s diversity. “The judiciary must represent all the colours of the rainbow and become a rainbow institution,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also referred to the recent restoration by the Supreme Court of the requirement of a minimum three years of practice at the Bar for entry-level judicial posts. While acknowledging that the requirement ensures practical exposure, he cautioned that its impact on women aspirants, especially those from rural or small-town backgrounds facing social and financial constraints, would need to be carefully observed over time.
Concluding his address, he reiterated that the justice system must strive to bridge the gap between constitutional ideals and lived realities, ensuring that the rule of law remains paramount.
