FCC to take up elections rigging case tomorrow

Five-member larger bench led by Justice Aamer Farooq to hear PTI's plea

ISLAMABAD:

The newly formed Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has listed for hearing a petition seeking formation of a judicial commission to probe into alleged rigging in the February 2024 general elections.

The country's largest opposition party, the PTI, had filed the petition with the Supreme Court soon after the general elections through Salman Akram Raja.

However, the FCC, which was created under the recently promulgated 27th Constitutional Amendment, will now hear the case.

According to official sources, FCC Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan has formed a five-member larger bench that will take up the plea on tomorrow (Tuesday).

The bench led by Justice Aamer Farooq includes Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, Justice KK Agha, Justice Rozi Khan Barrech and Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah.

The PTI could not contest the February 8 general elections as a party in view of a Supreme Court order that stripped the party of its election symbol.

However, independent candidates backed by the party emerged as the biggest group in the National Assembly. The party claimed that the elections were massively rigged to stop it from forming the government.

It had later approached the SC with a request to form a judicial commission to probe the alleged election fraud — a plea that the SC did not take up in the ensuing one year and nine months.

Several petitions have already been filed in different high courts challenging the 27th Constitutional Amendment.