ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking the disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in the Tyrian White case.
A newly constituted IHC bench, comprising Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, heard the petition. The case, filed against Khan for allegedly not disclosing his purported daughter in the nomination papers for the 2018 general elections, had been pending since May 2023.
This delay followed the dissolution of a three-member bench by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq after two judges uploaded differing opinions on the plea’s maintainability to the court website.
The original bench included IHC CJ Aamer Farooq, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir. They had reserved their verdict on March 30 of the previous year. However, opinions from Justice Kayani and Justice Tahir, which deemed the petition unmaintainable, were posted on the IHC website but later removed. The high court clarified that without the head of the bench, Justice Farooq’s signature, the two judges’ opinions could not be considered the official verdict.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer, Advocate Hamid Ali Shah, mentioned that Salman Akram Raja had filed an adjournment petition. Khan’s lawyer, Naeem Haider Panjhuta, argued that the matter had already been settled, with the initial verdict uploaded and later removed from the website. He noted that the bench was reconstituted via a press release after this removal.
Justice Jahangiri queried Panjhuta about his involvement in the case, to which Panjhuta replied that he was a proxy counsel. The judge noted that while Justice Kayani and Justice Tahir had issued opinions, the chief justice had not signed off on the verdict. Advocate Shah requested more time to prepare, stating he could only assist the court after reviewing the verdict.
Justice Jahangiri reiterated that IHC CJ Farooq had recused himself, and the two judges’ opinions had already dismissed the petition against Khan. He questioned how the court could provide relief when the petition had been dismissed, concluding that the majority decision had already been issued.
The case originated from a petition by Mohammad Sajid, alleging that Imran Khan failed to disclose his alleged daughter, Tyrian, in his nomination papers for the 2018 elections. Sajid claimed that Khan provided incorrect information by only mentioning two of his three children.
The petition argued that Khan did not declare Tyrian as his daughter in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). It also alleged that Khan did not marry Tyrian’s mother, Sita White, because her father threatened to disinherit her.
According to the petition, custody of Tyrian was given to Jemima Goldsmith, Khan’s ex-wife, following Sita White’s will, which nominated Jemima as Tyrian’s guardian before her death on May 13, 2004.
