Court seeks record of MNAs’ restoration
Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Muhammad Raza Qureshi, while hearing a petition to stop the NAB chairperson’s appointment, has summoned the record of PTI MNAs whose de-notification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had been suspended and who had ben.allowed to join the National Assembly business.
Justice Qureshi was hearing the plea filed through Advocate Azhar Siddique, seeking directions to the authorities concerned to stop the new chairman’s appointment till the nomination of a new opposition leader in the National Assembly.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the NAB chairman had recently tendered his resignation and the new chairperson should not be appointed with consultation of the current Opposition Leader Raja Riaz.
He argued that the LHC had restored most PTI MNAs by suspending their de-notification by the ECP and allowed them to participate in National Assembly proceedings. He said the appointment of Opposition Leader Raja Riaz had also been challenged in the LHC.
He requested the court to stop appointment of the NAB chairperson till the nomination of a new opposition leader in the National Assembly, arguing that Raja Riaz had no legal capacity to hold consultation on the matter after the restoration of the opposition PTI MNAs.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2023.