ISLAMABAD: On Monday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) barred the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from holding by-elections for NA-95 Mianwali-I, the seat that the electoral body had declared vacant after Imran Khan was disqualified in the Toshakhana reference.
IHC stops ECP from holding by-polls on Imran Khan’s Mianwali seat
On a petition filed by the PTI leader disputing the ECP’s disqualification order, Justice Aamer Farooq of the IHC gave the directives.
The court began the hearing by asking Imran Khan’s attorney if he had submitted any requests for the provision of new documents.
At this point, Khan’s attorney Barrister Ali Zafar informed the court that he had made a motion to include the notification from the ECP. He continued by saying that after being disqualified, his client was removed from the Mianwali seat.
Justice Farooq questioned, “Was this reference submitted by the speaker? Zafar answered in the yes to that.
The legal representative argued before the court throughout the case that after the speaker submits a referral to the ECP, it is required to report its conclusions on the matter. The constitutional body must comply within 90 days, he stressed.
Additionally, Zafar notified the court that by June 30th, all lawmakers must submit information about their assets. The lawyer said that if something is sold, the proceeds must also be disclosed.
“Any member assembly who fails to disclose these facts will have his membership suspended. The member may be implicated in corrupt activities if the return is not submitted within 120 days or if the information is provided incorrectly, according to Zafar.
The attorney argued that although misdeclaration is neither punishable or disqualifying, it is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine.
According to the law, misdeclaration crimes are punishable by fines and will be heard in trial session courts, according to Zafar. He further mentioned that in this instance, the ECP serves as the complaint.
“By making the disqualification ruling, the ECP went outside its scope. Disqualification is not yet warranted; it will only be feasible following a trial, according to Zafar.
The attorney also requested that the court stay the ECP’s ruling disqualifying Imran Khan.
Justice Farooq, however, denied the appeal and issued orders to halt the Mianwali by-election. Additionally, the court sent notices to the ECP challenging Imran Khan’s disqualification.
Earlier this month, the ECP disqualified former prime minister Imran Khan and ruled that the PTI chairman is no longer a member of the National Assembly in a unanimous decision in the Toshakana issue.
The PTI chairman will face criminal charges for making an incorrect declaration, the judgement stated.
Imran Khan was found to have produced a fraudulent affidavit and engaged in corrupt behaviour in violation of Article 63(1), according to the ECP (p).
According to the aforementioned article, a legislator is temporarily ineligible to be elected or selected as a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) or of a provincial assembly.
In August 2022, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf sent the Toshakhana scandal-related disqualification of former Prime Minister Imran Khan to the ECP in accordance with Articles 62A, 63A, and 223 of the Constitution.
Ali Gohar Khan, Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha of the PML-N, and five other individuals submitted the disqualification reference.
The 28-page reference listed 52 gifts that Toshakhana, the former prime minister Khan, received while breaking the law and following the norms. Most of the gifts, including several priceless watches, were sold in the market.
The gifts’ estimated worth has been determined to be Rs 142,042,100. Between August 2018 and December 2021, the gifts were given.
Ranjha, a PML-N MNA, claims that Khan omitted information from his 2018–2019 statement of assets regarding the gift of watches from Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
According to Ranjha, this concealing of facts is equivalent to lying, which is a crime under Section 137.
Thus, he declared that Khan was no longer Sadiq and Ameen and should be permanently barred from running in elections in accordance with Article 62(1)(f), Article 2, and Article 3 of the Constitution.
According to Ranjha, Article 62(1)(f) is the same legal provision that prevented previous prime minister Nawaz Sharif from running for office and ultimately resulted in his ouster.
