Lahore High Court reserves decision on plea against rejection of Imran's nomination papers

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 16 : A Lahore High Court (LHC) reserved the decision on a writ petition filed by Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan against the election appellate tribunal's dismissal of his appeal regarding the rejection of his nomination papers by the Returning officer (RO), The Express Tribune reported on Tuesday.
Arguing during the hearing, Imran Khan's counsel contended that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) lacks the authority to disqualify an individual.
He emphasised that the matter fall within the jurisdiction of the court and pointed out that issues related to Khan's sentence were already under consideration by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which had consistently held that the ECP does not possess the power to disqualify individuals.
Addressing another objection regarding Khan's seconder, whose residency was disputed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Khan's counsel argued that the seconder originally belonged to the same constituency (NA-122). However, his name was omitted after a fresh delimitation was carried out on the orders of LHC, and there was no official gazette notification for this delimitation, The Express Tribune reported.
The representative from the ECP argued that a contestant must meet the constitutional requirements of Articles 62 and 63, highlighting the necessity for a prime minister to be honest. Khan's counsel countered that matters pertaining to disqualification were still pending before the court, questioning the rejection of a contestant's nomination when their cases were awaiting resolution in a superior court.
Following detailed arguments, the bench reserved its decision.
As per The Express Tribune, Imran Khan had submitted his nomination papers for NA-122 Lahore and NA-89 Mianwali, both of which were rejected by the respective ROs. Subsequently, he contested these decisions before the election appellate tribunals, where his appeals were also dismissed. In response, Khan filed a writ petition with the larger bench of the LHC against the tribunal's decision.
In earlier proceedings, Khan's counsel had argued that the rejection of his client's nomination papers was unjust, particularly in the context of the Toshakhana case.
According to Khan's counsel, the sentence in the Toshakhana case was based on moral turpitude, which should not be considered sufficient grounds for rejecting nomination papers. He further added that there is no interpretation of moral turpitude in judgements.
The discussion also delved into the interpretation of moral turpitude and the reliance of the ROs and election appellate tribunal on the Toshakhana case's arguments.
The bench queried the ECP counsel about the petitioner's alleged moral turpitude sentence and its duration. The ECP's counsel pledged to assist the court on this matter. Khan's representative reiterated that Toshakhan's sentence formed the basis for decisions by ROs and the election appellate tribunal.
Earlier, Pakistan's Supreme Court revoked the Peshawar High Court (PHC) order reinstating 'bat' as the electoral symbol of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party announced that its candidates would contest elections independently, ARY News reported.
The three-member bench led by CJP Qazi Faez Isa announced the verdict, dealing a big blow to the previous ruling party's hopes of retaining its symbol.
Speaking to media persons outside the court, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said all the party candidates will contest the Feb 8 general elections independently. "We will issue a list of all our candidates with their election symbols," he said.
Gohar said the Supreme Court order was 'controversial' and left him 'deeply disappointed', adding that his party would challenge the Supreme Court's verdict.
"Whether we have the bat or not, the people are still us," the PTI chief said, noting that it was the court's duty to ensure that every person's basic rights are guaranteed.