Disqualification: PHC extends stay orders on petitions

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has extended stays orders issued on various petitions filed by councillors from different districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa against their disqualification. It has sought replies from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The bench, comprising Justice Roohul Amin and Justice Daud Khan, was hearing petitions filed by Shahab Khan, Noor Jahan and Asghar Ali, among others. The petitioners’ counsels said there were laws and a series of Supreme Court judgments regarding disqualification. They said petitioners were accused of going against their respective parties’ decisions and disqualification applications were filed against them. The counsels said ECP accepted the applications and declared them disqualified. They argued amendments for disqualification of elected members were carried out after the elections. As a result, the amended laws could not be applied on the petitioners. The bench, after hearing the arguments, adjourned the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2016.