LAHORE: Justice Abid Hussain Chattah of the Lahore High Court on Monday overruled an office objection on a petition seeking removal of former prime minister Imran Khan from the office of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman following his disqualification in the Toshakhana reference.

The judge directed the office to fix the petition for hearing before his court on April 12. The registrar office questioned the locus standi of the petitioner to agitate the matter.

Justice Chattah asked the petitioner’s counsel how he was aggrieved in the matter.

Advocate Muhammad Afaq said his client was a voter of the country and had a right to file the petition.

The judge reserved the verdict on the maintainability of the petition, which he announced later in the day and ordered the office to fix hearing of the petition.

Petitioner Mohammad Junaid submitted that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had disqualified the former prime minister and de-seated him from NA-95, Mianwali, on a corruption charge.

He said the office-bearers of a political party must meet the standards provided in Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution as per the provisions of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1976 and the Political Parties Order, 2002. However, he stated, Mr Khan was violating the laws by continuing to hold the chairman`s office of the PTI, which was registered with the ECP.

The petitioner also referred to the case wherein the Supreme Court restrained former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from heading the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) following his disqualification under Articles 62 and 63.

The petitioner asked the high court to order the ECP to remove Mr Khan as PTI chairman and issue a direction for the nomination of a new party head.

Separately, Justice Anwaar Hussain on Monday reserved his verdict on the maintainability of an identical petition filed by Advocate Muhammad Afaq in personal capacity.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2023