A petition has been moved before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) asking it to de-notify Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz as a political party, arguing that the party was named after a person who has been disqualified by the apex court from holding any public office, DawnNews reported on Monday.

According to the Supreme Court's judgment in the controversial Election Act 2017 case, an individual disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution cannot serve as head of a political party.

A day after the apex court ordered the ECP to remove Nawaz Sharif as president of the PML-N, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Khurrum Nawaz Gandapur, Mohammad Niaz and Ibrar Hussain Raza submitted a joint application before the ECP, asking the commission to reopen an earlier petition, filed by Niaz and Raza in connection with the de-notification of Nawaz Sharif.

According to the application, a copy of which is available with DawnNews, the two petitions had asked the ECP to de-notify the PML-N in accordance with the Supreme Court verdict, declaring Sharif ineligible for holding even a party office. Subsequently, the ECP had suspended the petition while linking it to a then-pending case in the SC on the same subject.

The petitioners argued that after the apex court barred Sharif from holding a party office, the party registered in his name has also become illegal. They asked the ECP to fix the pending petition for hearing and de-notify the PML-N.