Three lesser-known opposition parties on Tuesday withdrew an application filed with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seeking to be registered as an alliance under the name of Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), while also distancing themselves from the request itself.

The matter gained traction as the proposed name is already the name of an opposition alliance led by Mehmood Khan Achakzai. The applicants, who also sought the allocation of a joint election symbol, included Pakistan Aman Tehreek Chairman Ali Sher Yousafzai, Pakistan Falahi Tehreek Chairman Fazal Aman Khan, and Pakistan Welfare Party Chairman Muhammad Farooq.

The TTAP — which saw the move as an attempt to take away its title and sabotage its resistance movement — had formed a legal team to defend its position before the ECP, with Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar appearing before the commission today.

The matter was heard by a three-member ECP bench headed by the member from Balochistan, Shah Mohammad Jatoi.

During the hearing, the Pakistan Falahi Tehreek chairman told the ECP that the parties had not applied for the registration of the alliance.

“We were informed that we had filed an application through a notice issued by the election commission,” he said.

At this, the ECP member from Punjab, Babar Hassan Bharwana, remarked, “We did not issue a notice ourselves; someone must have applied.”

He also called for a forensic analysis of the application, saying, “You should consult your legal adviser and apologise if you have applied by mistake.”

The ECP told the three parties to withdraw the application, warning that action would be taken against them otherwise.

For his part, Khokhar filed a request seeking the provision of records. Khokhar said that an opposition alliance had been formed under Achakzai’s leadership called the TTAP. He urged the ECP to not entertain the plea.

The ECP then sought detailed statements from the three applicants and said it would issue and appropriate order. Later, the applicants submitted handwritten requests seeking the withdrawal of their application.

Veteran politician Achakzai, who also heads his own Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), was made chairman of the TTAP, weeks after the February 8 general elections. The PTI, PkMAP and Balochistan National Party-Mengal are among the major parties of the alliance.

The alliance alleges that the mandate of PTI was stolen and it does not acknowledge the present government as a genuine representative of the voters. The opposition alliance recently put on hold its countrywide public meetings and protests, mainly, in the wake of floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

‘Space for opposition getting narrower’

Speaking to the media outside the ECP, Khokhar termed the application a “childish thought”.

“Space for the opposition in this country is growing narrower and narrower,” Khokhar said, decrying the move to steal the TTAP’s name.

Speaking about the opposition alliance, he said, “This has been underway for a long time … the largest opposition party, PTI is a part of it; the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen is also a part of it; Balochistan National Party’s Akhtar Mengal is also a part of it; other parties and civil society individuals are also a part of it.”

He also went on to say that such requests should not be entertained. “If we want to run this country in a better way, in an acceptable way where the rule of law governs, then we should refrain from these kind of requests,” he said.

“The three parties that came today — we didn’t even know who they were — they submitted their withdrawal application. But for the future … we are also clever, and we will not back off in the face of such efforts. We will continue to defend and promote our right to political opposition,” he said.