LAHORE: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday told the Lahore High Court that a reference filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) seeking disqualification of its MPAs was being scrutinised.

A reply of the ECP submitted to the court in response to a PTI petition stated that it would take at least 30 days to decide the reference sent by the party.

PTI Punjab parliamentary leader Sibtain Khan filed the petition through Advocate Amir Saeed Rawn, while Justice Shujaat Ali Khan had on April 27 sought a reply from the ECP.

However, the judge was on leave on Friday and the hearing was adjourned till May 6.

The counsel argued that the party sent a reference to the ECP for the disqualification of its 26 MPAs for committing defection in the election of Punjab chief minister. He said the ECP had been delaying the process for the disqualification of the dissident MPAs.

He asked the court to order the ECP to expedite the disqualification process and also suspend the membership of the respondent MPAs till a final decision of the petition.

BAIL EXTENDED: A sessions court on Friday extended the pre-arrest bail of nine PTI and PML-Q MPAs till May 17 in a case of attacking Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari and ransacking the assembly during the last week session held to elect new chief minister.

Qila Gujjar Singh police registered a case against the assembly’s secretary and several MPAs belonging to the former ruling coalition.

MPAs, including Ammar Yasir, Shahbaz Ahmad, Mahindar Singh, Waris Aziz, Khayal Ahmad, Shujaat Nawaz, Ali Raza Khan Khaqwani, Umar Farooq and Malik Nadeem Abbas had already been granted bail.

Meanwhile, the court reserved its verdict on a petition of Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, seeking registration of an FIR of alleged torture of him during the election of chief minister.

Earlier, Qila Gujjar Singh police filed a report saying the FIR of the incident of violence in the Punjab Assembly had already been registered and the investigation was under way. It urged the court to dismiss the petition of Mr Elahi as he did not appear before the police.

Mr Elahi, through a counsel, contended that the police refused to lodge a case on his application. He said the police acted at the behest of ‘Leader of Opposition’ Hamza Shehbaz.

He asked the court to order the police to register a case against the culprits involved in the attack on the speaker and other MPAs of the PML-Q and the PTI.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2022