The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday issued an order halting the appointment of new opposition leaders in both the National Assembly (NA) and the Senate until August 15. The decision comes in the wake of the disqualification of senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz.
A division bench of the PHC, while hearing the matter, issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the NA speaker, and the Senate chairman. The court directed these authorities to refrain from taking any further action or making new appointments to the positions of opposition leader in either house until the next hearing.
The petitioners, Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz, were represented by PTI interim chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. During the proceedings, Barrister Gohar argued that on July 31, several PTI leaders, including Ayub, were sentenced in connection with cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots. Following these convictions, the ECP moved to declare Ayub disqualified from his parliamentary position.
Gohar contended that the ECP had exceeded its mandate, as it holds no authority to make decisions pertaining to assembly matters or the appointment of opposition leaders.
He further argued that the position of opposition leader is a constitutional right of the opposition, and the government cannot occupy or control it. In light of this, he requested interim relief to suspend any appointment process until the matter is fully adjudicated.
After hearing the arguments, the PHC accepted the plea for temporary relief and issued a stay order, effectively freezing the appointment process until August 15. The court also sought written replies from the respondents, including the ECP, NA speaker, and Senate chairman, before the next hearing date.
The case now hinges on the upcoming proceedings, where the court will decide whether the disqualification of the petitioners and subsequent steps by the ECP were legally justified, and whether the constitutional position of opposition leader can be altered under the current circumstances.
