PTI chairman Gohar Khan says masked men attacked his family members

Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Gohar Ali Khan on Saturday said that some masked men broke into his house and attacked his family members while he was attending a hearing in the Supreme Court on his party's electoral symbol of cricket "bat", according to a media report.

Attending the hearing, Khan, who was appointed as the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in December 2023, told Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa that four pickup trucks with masked men were at his residence where they roughed up his family members and confiscated a computer and documents, The News International newspaper reported.

"During the hearing of his party's electoral symbol bat, the PTI chairman informed the chief justice that his family members were being beaten up while he was attending the hearing. Some masked men entered his house and beat up his son and nephew," said the report.

Khan asked the court to excuse him from the hearing and left.

During his absence, the chief justice called Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Amir Rehman to the rostrum and said: “Nothing like this should happen, if it is happening.” Following a brief absence, Khan returned to the court, to which the chief justice asked if all was right.

The PTI chairman described the situation as "very serious" and wanted to tell more but was not permitted by the chief justice, who again instructed the additional attorney general to get the situation “fixed”.

Following the incident, Chief Justice Isa directed the Inspector General of Police to take stock of the situation and personally go to the Koshar police station where the case was registered.

The top judge noted that if Barrister Khan is not satisfied, the court should be informed, the report said.

Pakistan Election Commission on Thursday moved the apex court against the Peshawar High Court (PHC) verdict that annulled its decision to declare as “unconstitutional” the organisational polls in Imran Khan’s party and revoked the cricket ‘bat’ electoral symbol.

The election commission had on December 22 barred the PTI from keeping its ‘bat’ symbol for the upcoming February 8 election, citing irregularities in their internal polls that did not comply with the party's constitution and election laws.

Following the ECP's decision to revoke their symbol, the PTI challenged it in the PHC where a single-member judge granting temporary relief reinstated the bat symbol and referred the case to a larger bench for a hearing on January 9.