ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has dismissed an appeal seeking the disqualification of Prime Minister Imran Khan for concealing the parentage of his putative daughter Tyrian White.

A two-member bench of the IHC comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir resumed hearing the case on Tuesday after a gap of three years and four months.

After a brief hearing, the bench allowed the application seeking withdrawal of the appeal and subsequently declared that the appeal was dismissed as withdrawn.

The appeal was filed by an unsuccessful candidate of the Justice and Democratic Party, headed by former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

Abdul Wahab Baloch — a rival candidate of Prime Minister Imran Khan from Islamabad’s NA-53 constituency — had raised objections to the nomination of the latter for concealing his putative daughter, Tyrian, in the papers filed for contesting the 2018 general elections from the same constituency.

However, Mr Baloch later joined the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in December 2018 and was appointed the deputy attorney general.

He subsequently filed an application for withdrawing the petition, which could not be fixed before the IHC for over three years.

He had filed the appeal in the IHC before the Election Commission of Pakistan declared Mr Khan as the returned candidate from NA-53. However, its fate has been hanging in the balance for multiple reasons. Before moving the high court, Mr Baloch filed pleas before the returning officer concerned and an election tribunal, both of which dismissed the objections.

The appeal was last fixed before a division bench of the high court comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Justice Athar Minallah on Aug 16, 2018. However, the bench stood dissolved as Justice Minallah recused himself from the hearing citing personal reasons.

Subsequently, the matter was referred to the then IHC chief justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi for reconstituting the bench. However, it never happened.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2021