Daily Times

Would PTI ever free itself from administrative shackles so that it can begin to concentrate on becoming the voice of millions it supposedly enjoys the support of?

With yet another plea being entertained by the election commission, the legality of its intra-party elections is all set to become the centre of attention. That the watchdog of general polls that sit at the crux of the country’s democratic identity cannot find any other activity worth its honourable time to put every single decision of a single political entity largely claimed to have been reduced to the fringes for the third time in the last few months speaks volumes about its priorities.

Considering how it refuses to address the glaring elephant in the room, the superfluous interest in ensuring the accountability and transparency of the affairs of a small microcosm of a 220-million-strong nation reads as a tragic comedy. Why are the ECP officials tight-lipped when asked to address the inconsistencies of Forms 45 and 47?

Where’s this profound determination to address the evil genius when opposition members cry foul after bureaucratic forces announce results of their choosing in by-polls? It is high time that either the PTI be given the right to make use of its original symbol and be recognised as an official political entity or the relevant authorities go through the affairs of every single outfit with the same fine-toothed comb.

The election season has long ended and the former prime minister is no longer in the game. There could not have been a greater sign for all sides to move towards the second act. If the election commission still refuses to end its proclivity for making an unnecessary victim out of the PTI, perhaps the ruling elite needs to pluck out some courage to call it out. No matter how badly it may spin, these punishments have long crossed the realms of “routine penalties” and should be addressed as such.