PML-N, PPP react to SC verdict in Cipher case

Lahore: The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) expressed their discontent with the recent Supreme Court ruling in the cipher case, providing relief to Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

 Senior leaders from both parties criticized the decision, questioning the sparing of Imran Khan without completing a thorough investigation into the violation of the Official Secrets Act.

During a media talk in Lahore, senior PML-N leader Malik Ahmad Khan raised concerns about the violation of the Constitution and law, emphasizing the need for a fair investigation rather than granting leniency. He questioned the validity of a party receiving its electoral symbol when legally prohibited from contesting elections due to a failure to hold intra-party elections as mandated by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Malik Ahmad Khan highlighted the ECP's objections, stating that the legitimate questions posed by the commission remained unanswered.

Referring to the SC verdict in the cipher case, he criticized Imran Khan's actions, noting that Khan held a brief cabinet meeting on the secret document and swiftly recommended the dissolution of assemblies based on it. He likened PTI's move to a violation of the Constitution, drawing parallels with actions by military dictators.

Marriyum Aurangzeb, another senior leader of the PML-N, also criticzed the SC verdict in the cipher case. She also questioned the remarks in which Imran Khan was declared innocent. 

In a separate press conference in Karachi, PPP leader Sharjeel Inam Memon asserted that Pakistan suffered significant losses due to the cipher, affecting the country's economy to this day

Memon questioned whether a big party should be exempt from the law and criticized Imran Khan for being favored despite allegations of receiving funding from India and Israel. He emphasized the need for a level-playing field for all parties and urged against equating those supporting the country's development with the PTI founder.

 Memon lamented the assumption of innocence surrounding the former PM and reiterated the PPP's commitment to a fair and equitable political landscape.

Memon criticized Imran Khan for spreading negativity among the youth through social media and accused PTI of robbing people of their rights in the 2018 elections through the use of RTS.

The ECP, on Friday evening, revoked PTI's 'bat' symbol, declaring its intra-party elections "unlawful."