LHC bars by-polls on another 20 PTI MNAs' seats

Court suspends speaker’s acceptance of resignations and ECP order de-notifying MNAs from Punjab

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday suspended the de-notification order by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for another 20 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, restraining the electoral watchdog from holding by-polls in the concerned constituencies.

The court also suspended the National Assembly speaker’s notification under which the resignations of the former ruling party’s lawmakers were accepted and issued notices to the quarters concerned seeking their replies.

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LHC’s Justice Shahid Karim heard a petition filed by 20 PTI MNAs including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pervez Khatak, Asad Umar, and others challenging two notifications – one issued by the National Assembly speaker through which their resignations were accepted and the second of ECP in which they had been de-notified.

Petitioners’ counsel Barrister Ali Zafar argued that the PTI lawmakers had [already] withdrawn their resignations before the NA speaker accepted them.

It may be noted that the same bench had suspended the de-notification of 43 PTI MNAs earlier this month under similar pretenses.

In a statement after the verdict, the ECP issued a statement dispelling the impression about the suspension of by-polls on the seats of the 43 MNAs.

An ECP spokesperson had said the order would not affect the schedule of the polls already announced for Mar 16 and 19 on a total of 30 seats in Punjab as the seats involved in the case before the court were separate from those where by-polls had been announced.

Barrister Ali Zafar, maintaining his line of argument from the previous case, stressed that the 20 lawmakers from Punjab had also withdrawn their resignations prior to the approval issued by Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and the subsequent de-notification by the electoral supervisory body.

The PTI's lawyer argued in court today that the incumbent NA speaker had been correct to insist on individual verification of the en masse resignations tendered by the PTI in protest against Imran Khan's ouster from office -- a move the PTI had often decried.

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However, Zafar regretted that the due procedure was not followed by the speaker, claiming that none of the MNAs had individually verified their resignations.

After hearing the arguments, the LHC suspended the two notifications deseating the 20 MNAs and restrained the ECP from holding by-elections in those constituencies.

Meanwhile, Justice Karim also sought a reply from the electoral body, adjourning the matter relating to the Speaker National Assembly's notification until March 7.