LHC seeks replies till 12th on PTI plea on DROs, ROs

The Lahore High Court on Thursday sought replies from respondents by Dec 12 on the PTI’s plea challenging the appointment of officials from Punjab’s bureaucracy as district returning officers (DROs), returning officers (ROs), and assistant returning officers (AROs) for the upcoming general elections on Feb 8, 2024.

The court also sought the assistance of Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan.

The petitioner, Additional PTI Secretary General Umair Khan Niazi, requested the court to declare the relevant sections 50(1)(b) and 51 (1) of Elections Act 2017 as illegal and unconstitutional under which the DROs, ROs, and AROs were appointed.

The petitioner’s counsel implored the court that the case was confined to the appointments of these officials to the extent of Punjab.

LHC’s Justice Ali Baqar Najafi inquired how the move was unconstitutional. The counsel replied that the officials were being further empowered, adding that more than 100 detention orders were issued during the last six months merely to round up PTI leaders and activists.

Read: PTI challenges appointment of election officials in LHC

Further, the Election Commission of Pakistan scheduled the petitions against the PTI’s intra-party elections for hearing on Friday (today).

Akbar S Babar, the founding member of the PTI, challenged the intra-party elections.

Babar stated that it was an election that was conducted in an unconstitutional manner.

The intra-party elections were held on Dec 2, in which all the candidates, including the chairman, were elected unopposed.

Later, the PTI submitted the details of the intra-party elections to the ECP, requesting it to issue the party certificate as soon as possible.