On Monday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected Imran Khan’s appeal to have the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) judgement in the Toshakhana issue suspended immediately and ordered the ECP to give the PTI chairman a certified copy of the order.
The former premier in the Toshakhana reference was disqualified by the ECP on Friday, who claimed he had engaged in corrupt behavior by “making false declarations and filing wrong declaration.”
The PTI chairman then approached the IHC against the verdict. The petition, however, has drawn criticism from the registrar.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the case today and inquired about the petition’s concerns at the beginning of the session.
Khan’s attorney, Barrister Ali Zafar, informed him that the biometric verification was the subject of one objection and the absence of a certified copy of the ECP’s ruling on the other was the subject of the other.
Regarding the second problem, Zafar informed the court that the ECP had not yet delivered its full decision and that they had only got the first two pages of the ruling.
At this moment, IHC CJ questioned, “What is the rush in the case?
The PTI leader must run for office in the upcoming days, Zafar informed the court, and the ECP has also mandated that the PTI leader be prosecuted for engaging in corrupt behaviour.
Zafar stated, “The Election Commission has also ordered to refer the matter for a trial.
Justice Minallah pointed out that the commission’s only directive was to send the matter for trial.
According to Zafar, being disqualified is a “stigma” that could have an impact on the upcoming elections.
Which order should the court postpone if there is no judgement? asked the magistrate. Additionally, he instructed the attorney to respond to the registrar’s office’s concerns.
Disqualification will have an impact on people’s thoughts. The petition has the brief order attached, according to Zafar.
The IHC CJ then inquired if Khan’s attorney have a certified copy of the short order. However, the attorney informed the court that a certified copy request had been made.
The judge said, “This disqualification is exclusively as a member of the National Assembly.”
Zafar argued, however, that the populace was unaware of the circumstance. He continued by saying that while ECP posted its short order online, they were not given a certified copy.
The judge declared, “We will hear the matter again if you are not given a copy within three days. He also mentioned how occasionally his court would give brief orders and then release a comprehensive verdict.
The IHC CJ stated, “I anticipate you receiving the certified copy in three days.”
The judge subsequently turned down Khan’s request to postpone today’s ECP judgement.
PTI CHAIRMAN PLEA
On Saturday, the PTI chairman nominated the NA speaker, secretary, and ECP secretary as respondents in his application.
On the same day he filed, Khan also requested a hearing in the matter, but IHC denied his request.
According to the office memorandum, presents less Rs. 30,000 may be purchased without any payment, but goods costing more than Rs. 30,000 could be obtained by paying 50% of their value, according to the appeal.
Before the PTI government took office, presents worth Rs30,000 could be acquired by paying 20% of their total value. In contrast, the previous prime minister Imran Khan received 14 gifts between 2018 and 2021 by paying 20% and 50% of their total value.
According to the Election Act, members of Parliament must give the ECP information about their available assets by June 30; however, if they sell any assets prior to that date, they are exempt from this requirement.
However, they must give information about the assets they have sold. Every year, the petitioner provided the ECP with information about the worth of his assets.
