IHC issues order in tribunal transfer case

Says the proceedings of new election tribunal to remain on stay


Fiaz Mahmood December 28, 2024

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ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued its written order on a petition filed by a PTI-backed candidate, Shoaib Shaheen, against the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to transfer an election dispute from the election tribunal for Islamabad to a tribunal for Rawalpindi.

Three PTI candidates including Shaheen who had contested elections at the three National Assembly constituencies in the federal capital—NA-46, NA-47 and NA-48—had approached an election tribunal led by an IHC judge, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, against alleged rigging.

The PML-N leaders Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Raja Khurram Nawaz and Anjum Aqeel Khan—who had won these elections—had later approached the ECP seeking transfer of the cases to another tribunal.

The ECP in October accepted these petitions and transferred the cases to the election tribunal of Rawalpindi presided over by Justice (retd) Abdul Shakoor Paracha.

The PTI candidates later challenged the order in the IHC which halted the proceedings of the new tribunal through separate orders respectively on December 19 and December 23.

According to the order, the petitioner contended that the ECP's reasoning behind accepting the PML-N leader's petition was erroneous and thus "untenable". "It was further contended that the impugned order [of the ECP] is not in the light of the observations made by this court [IHC] in an earlier round if litigation viz in writ petition no. 1796-2024 and other vide judgement dated July 29, 2024," it said. The order while allowing the exemption sought by the petitioner stayed the proceedings of the newly formed tribunal.

The ECP, in three separate but identical orders announced by a four-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, justified the move under Articles 218(3) and 10-A of the Constitution and Sections 3, 4 and 151 of the Elections Act.

The election petitions were transferred to the election tribunal for Rawalpindi division, presided over by Justice (retd) Paracha, who was granted jurisdiction over Islamabad Capital Territory as well.

"The previous notification of the election tribunal comprising Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri for the Islamabad Capital Territory is hereby withdrawn. The office is directed to take follow-up action accordingly," the orders said.

The decision was based on pleas filed by PML-N leaders Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Raja Khurram Nawaz and Anjum Aqeel Khan. The respondents in the cases were PTI members Shoaib Shaheen, Syed Muhammad Ali Bokhari and Aamir Masood Mughal.

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