ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and other defendants in the petition filed against the disqualification of former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case by the ECP.
The court also issued a notice on the petition, seeking stay in the case.
Similarly, the LHC also allowed the petitioner to file an amended petition in order to make the government of Punjab party to the case.
Justice Muhammad Sajid Mehmood Seith of the LHC heard the petition filed by a citizen named Muhammad Jabir Abbas.
Additional Attorney General (AAG) Nasar Ahmad represented the federal government in the case.
In his petition, Abbas argued that since the ECP was not a court of law, therefore it did not have the power to declare any politician from holding a public office.
The petitioner prayed to the court to declare the disqualification of PTI chairman by the election commission in the Toshakhana reference null and void.
Justice Sethi remarked that the case was pending in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
“But here the ECP’s jurisdiction has been challenged,” the petitioner’s counsel told the court.
The AAG, on the occasion, argued the petition could not be admitted for the hearing.
But Justice Sethi directed him to submit government’s reply on the petition since the ECP’s jurisdiction had been challenged in it.
Later, the court adjourned hearing of the case until November 12.
