Opposition in the Punjab Assembly comprising the PTI, PPP, PML-Q and the Jamaat-e-Islami has previously worked in close coordination, putting forth a united stance on several issues. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will decide on February 22 two references sent by the National Assembly speaker seeking disqualification of Imran Khan and Jahangir Tareen, an official of the commission said on Wednesday.
Justice (retd) Sardar Raza Khan of the ECP expressed annoyance over the absence of Akram Sheikh, the counsel for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
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Some PML-N lawmakers had submitted two references against PTI chief Imran Khan and the party’s secretary-general Jahangir Tareen to the speaker of the National Assembly after PTI filed references against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last year for his disqualification.
Rejecting PTI references against the prime minister, the speaker sent references against PTI leaders to the ECP. The case was referred in September last year and the stipulated duration of 90 days for an ECP decision on these references had already expired. Both references are still pending with the ECP.
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On Wednesday, Justice (retd) Sardar Raza Khan admonished the government for causing inordinate delays and said that the commission would take a decision at the next hearing which was fixed for February 22.
PTI has already filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), claiming both references had become infructuous since these were not decided within the constitutional timeframe. The ECP official countered the argument and said that there were constitutional provisions allowing it to take up matters not completed on time.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 16th, 2017.
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