Absent PTI lawyers issued notice over ECP polls plea

PHC to continue hearing electoral body’s appeal against its Dec 26 order today

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday adjourned till Wednesday (today) the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) intra-court appeal challenging its ruling on PTI’s internal polls and the subsequent revoking of the ‘cricket bat’ as the party’s electoral symbol.

Justice Ejaz Khan, who was presiding over the hearing of the ECP’s plea, also issued a notice to the PTI, asking its absent lawyers to appear before the court.

As the hearing started, ECP lawyers Sikandar Mohmand and Mohsin Kamran Siddique appeared in the court.

ECP lawyer Sikandar told the court that on December 26, the PHC had suspended the decision of the commission in connection with declaring PTI's intra-party election null and void as well as not giving it the electoral symbol of the ‘cricket bat’.

He further informed the court that the single-judge bench of the PHC comprising Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel had issued a stay order without even issuing a notice to the commission.

The lawyer argued that that the PHC did not pay any heed its arguments even though it was a legal requirement as being a federal independent body, the commission could not be represented by the advocate general or additional advocate general.

Therefore, he added that it was imperative that ECP should present its own arguments as the decision affected the commission.

The ECP lawyer contended that the authority of PHC was limited only to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, but without listening to the commission, the electoral symbol of the political party was restored in the entire country.

Read also: PHC reserves judgment on ECP's intra-court plea on PTI polls

He added that the PHC’s December 26 decision was not only against the law but also against a judgment of the Supreme Court in 1997.

The judge inquired if there was anyone from the petitioner’s party present in the court. The ECP lawyer informed the court that they had not seen anyone.

K-P Advocate General Amir Javid and Additional Attorney General Sanaullah Khan told the court that the interim provincial government did not want to be a party in the case.

They added that represented a caretaker government, for which all parties were equal. They argued that the interim set-up had nothing to do with the matter and it name should be deleted as a party in the case.

Mashal Yousafzai appeared in the court on behalf of the PTI. She told the court that the senior lawyers of the PTI, Barristers Gohar Ali Khan and Ali Zafar, were currently in Islamabad and could not appear on behalf of the party in the case.

Yousafzai added that Barristers Gohar and Ali Zafar and would present their arguments so the hearing of the case should be adjourned by issuing a notice to them.

The court issued a notice to the PTI lawyers and adjourned the hearing till Wednesday (today).

The ECP had filed another intra-court appeal in the PHC seeking the formation of a two-judge special bench for an early hearing of the matter.