A five-member Constitution Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over PTI leader Shibli Faraz’s appeal against his disqualification as a senator.
On July 31, Faraz, along with PTI’s Omar Ayub and other lawmakers, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad for his role in the May 9, 2023 riots. He was subsequently disqualified as opposition leader in the Senate under Article 63(1h) (parliamentary disqualification on conviction) of the Constitution.
After being denied relief by the Peshawar High Court, Ayub and Faraz approached the Supreme Court on October 4 against the former’s order under Article 185(3) of the Constitution (appellate jurisdiction).
Headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, the CB accepted four appeals (two from Ayub and two from Faraz) for hearing today, according to the cause list. The bench also included Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Shakeel Ahmad.
PTI president Advocate Gohar Ali Khan appeared as counsel for Ayub and Faraz. He informed the court that Ayub wanted to withdraw his appeals as his wife would contest the Haripur (NA-18) by-election for the seat vacated by him.
Gohar further said that Ayub also wanted to withdraw the appeal against his denotification as NA opposition leader, pointing out that Mehmood Khan Achakzai had been nominated for the position.
Meanwhile, Faraz also wanted to withdraw his appeal against the Senate President’s notification disqualifying him from the post of opposition leader, but wanted to go ahead with the plea challenging the ECP’s notification disqualifying him, Gohar told the court.
The lawyer noted that the by-elections for the vacant Senate seats were scheduled for October 30 (Thursday). Five candidates, including two backed by the PTI, are contesting the by-election for the Upper House general seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Our request is that notices be issued on Shibli Faraz’s petition against the election commission notification,” Gohar said.
The CB subsequently issued a notice to the ECP on Faraz’s appeal and adjourned the hearing to October 29 (Wednesday), a day before the by-elections.
‘We will face our opponents’ in by-elections: Omar Ayub
Voting on the NA-18 seat that fell vacant due to Ayub’s disqualification will be held on November 23, the ECP said.
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Ayub and Faraz had challenged their disqualifications before the PHC, which initially allowed them interim relief by restraining the ECP from taking any action against the PTI leaders.
However, earlier this month, the PHC denied the duo, as well as then MNA Abdul Latif Chitrali, any relief. He ordered them to surrender first before the appropriate court and adjourned the petitions for an indefinite period, allowing the ECP to fill the vacant posts.
The court recalled multiple stay orders issued earlier, directing the ECP, Senate President and National Assembly Speaker not to proceed with their impugned notifications.
