Justice Shujaat Ali Khan of the Lahore High Court has referred two petitions from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, suggesting that they be considered by a five-member bench handling similar cases.
The PTI filed two petitions, one challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) notification to disqualify Imran Khan and the other addressing directions given to PTI for intra-party elections. The proceedings, held in the judge’s chamber, saw PTI’s counsel, Syed Ali Zafar, being informed that these petitions are being sent to the chief justice.
The first petition, filed on December 7 by Imran through his counsel, contests the ECP’s August 8 notification disqualifying him for five years. Imran argued that recent amendments to the Elections Act 2017 limit the ECP’s jurisdiction in deciding the qualification or disqualification of a member based on a court conviction. The petition urges the court to set aside the ECP’s notification and suspend its operation until the final disposal of the case.
The second petition, also filed on December 7 by Imran and General Secretary Omar Ayub Khan, challenges the ECP’s November 23 notification directing PTI to hold intra-party elections. The petitioners seek to set aside the ECP’s order and validate the party elections held on June 10, 2022. They request the court to suspend the operation of the ECP’s order and restrain it from passing any further adverse order until the petition is disposed of.
The petition highlights that numerous political parties registered with the ECP have never been questioned regarding conducting intra-party elections, asserting that the ECP lacks jurisdiction in this matter. It claims that the ECP has singled out PTI in a discriminatory and illegal manner, treating it as if it were a trial court. The petition argues that the ECP’s order violates various articles of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.
