A petition calling for the ouster of PTI Chairman Imran Khan following his disqualification in the Toshakhana matter was granted for hearing by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday.
The LHC had reserved its decision on the maintainability of the petition submitted by attorney Mohammad Afaq on Thursday.
Today, Punjab’s attorney general and advocate general received notices from Justice Sajid Mehmood Sethi, who also made the ruling public. The court also asked respondents to respond by November 11 (Friday).
Imran, the Pakistani government, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and other parties were named as respondents in the petition, a copy of which may be found at Dawn.com.
The argument made in the plea was that it was a legal and constitutional necessity for party officeholders to be qualified in accordance with Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution under the terms of the Representation of the People Act of 1976 and Political Parties Order (PPO) of 2002.
It was “fair” for Imran to be denotified as the PTI chairman after he was disqualified from the NA-95 constituency, according to the plea, and an order should be made to that effect.
He argued that the Political Parties Order and its regulations prohibit a disqualified individual from leading a political party.
He said that Imran is breaking the law by leading the PTI, which was a registered party with the ECP, by continuing to do so.
In order to remove Imran as PTI chairman and provide instructions for the nomination of a new party leader, the lawyer asked the court to order the ECP to do so.
Disqualification of Imran
Imran was disqualified from the Toshakhana reference in October by the Election Commission of Pakistan, which found that the former prime minister had made “false statements and erroneous declarations” about the gifts he had received.
The Toshakhana is a division under the administrative jurisdiction of the Cabinet Division that houses priceless presents that foreign dignitaries and heads of other governments and nations have given to monarchs, lawmakers, bureaucrats, and officials.
Gifts/presents and other similar items received by those to whom these rules apply must be reported to the Cabinet Division, per Toshakhana regulations.
Legislators from the ruling coalition filed a reference alleging that Imran had not disclosed information about the gifts he kept from the Toshakhana and the proceeds from their reported sales. The ECP concluded last month that the former premier had in fact made “false statement and incorrect declarations” regarding the gifts, prompting widespread protests from the PTI.
Imran was declared ineligible according to Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution, according to the watchdog’s order.
