LHC will be available to redress election-related woes

Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Ameer Bhatti ordered the court’s diary branches on Saturday to remain open for the next two days for any complainant who might approach the court to seek remedy for any complication or hurdle in the contest for the upcoming general elections.

Chief Justice Bhatti ordered that the diary branches at the Principal Seat at Lahore and at Multan would remain open as per office hours on Sunday, December 24 and Monday, December 24 – both closed holidays – to entertain the petitions relating to the hurdles in submission of nomination papers.

According to the order, petitions which could arise out of similar situations, if any, in the jurisdiction of the LHC Rawalpindi Bench could be filed at the Principal Seat, while the petitions in the areas of Bahawalpur Bench could be filed at Multan Bench.

The filing of nomination papers started on December 20 and the last date was December 22. However, the election commission of Pakistan extended the date of filing papers until Sunday (today). From Monday, the scrutiny of the papers would begin and continue toll December 30.

Meanwhile, in a related matter, LHC Justice Ali Baqar Najafi directed the Regional Police Officer (RPO) of Gujranwala and the district police officers (DPOs) of Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin not to impede Qaisara Elahi, wife of Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, from submitting nomination papers.

Qaisara Elahi, in her petition in the LHC had complained that her husband Parvez Elahi and son Moonis Elahi intended to contest the February 8 elections from NA-69 and NA-64 and PP-64 and PP-32 but their authorised individuals were being obstructed by Punjab from submitting their papers.