LHC Postpones Imran’s Plea Against ECP Until After Eid al-Fitr

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has adjourned the hearing of a plea filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) move to strip him of his party chairmanship following his disqualification in the Toshakhana reference. The hearing will not take place until after Eidul Fitr. LHC’s larger bench, headed by Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, issued the order.

During the proceedings, the PTI chief’s counsel, barrister Ali Zafar, told the court that he was ready to initiate his arguments. The ECP’s counsel argued that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had already fixed April 19 on a similar petition that was pending. The ECP counsel further objected to not making the speaker of the national assembly a respondent in the case.

In response, bench member Justice Shahik Karim observed that making the speaker a respondent was not necessary. The bench also remarked that the roster would be changed after the Eid holidays and that one of the judges on the present bench might not be a part of the bench.

It is worth mentioning that in January, the LHC’s single bench, headed by Justice Jawad Hassan, barred the ECP from removing Imran as the chairman of PTI in pursuance of the verdict issued in the Toshakhana case.

The ECP had initiated the process to remove Imran as the PTI chairman on December 5, 2022, in the light of its verdict in the Toshakhana case. On December 13, 2022, the ECP also informed the IHC that it had initiated proceedings to remove Imran from the post of PTI chairman.

In his plea, Imran Khan stated that no declaration of disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution had been passed by any court of law against him. The petitioner added that the ECP’s findings were to the detriment of the entire scheme of parliamentary democracy, which was not warranted in law and was liable to be set aside by the court.

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He further implored that the ECP could not issue the impugned notice to the petitioner since it had never made a declaration against him under Article 62(1)(f). The case has been adjourned until after Eidul Fitr.