The Lahore High Court (LHC), after hearing two separate petitions on Monday, directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to withhold the victory notifications of PML-N leaders Rana Sanaullah and Khawaja Asif.

In Rana Sanaullah's case, the losing candidate from NA-106 (Faisalabad) briefed the court that the returning officer (RO) in his constituency had "unlawfully" rejected his petition for a full recount.

The applicant further said that the PML-N leader should be disqualified and the notification of his victory should not be sent out.

While admitting the case for hearing on Tuesday, the court asked the ECP to withhold the notification until the proceedings are completed.

In the case of Khawaja Asif, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's Usman Dar had petitioned the LHC to withhold Asif's victory notification.

After losing to Asif in NA-73 (Sialkot), Dar had alleged in his application to the court that polling officers were not given Form 45 after the count.

He said that 7,406 votes were rejected in his constituency and that he had lost to Asif with a margin of only 1,346 votes.

The PTI leader said that the RO had rejected his application of ordering a recount in the constituency.

The applicant asked the court to order that a recount be held in the constituency and that Asif's victory notification be withheld until the results of the recount are announced.

Justice Mamoonul Rashid asked the ECP to withhold the notification while fixing the matter for hearing on Wednesday, August 8.