PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday put former prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan on notice seeking his response to a petition, which called for his disqualification from becoming a member of the National Assembly and heading his party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

Following preliminary hearing, a bench consisting of Chief Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Shakeel Ahmad directed Mr Imran to respond in writing to the joint petition of Awami National Party provincial president Aimal Wali Khan and voter from NA-25 Kurram tribal district Mohammad Tufail Shaheen.

Next hearing will be fixed later.

The petitioners claimed that the PTI chairman had concealed his assets and those of his wife in his nomination papers filed for the National Assembly by-elections in Oct last year, so he stood disqualified from holding any public office under articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

ANP leader insists Imran filed false asset declaration with nomination papers

They requested the high court to declare that on account of concealment of his and his spouse’s assets, Mr Imran was, on the day he filed nomination papers, not qualified to be elected as the member of the National Assembly.

The petitioners also said the court should declare that the PTI chief, by filing a false declaration of his assets with his nomination papers, had permanently rendered himself disqualified from holding any public office, including that of an MNA.

They requested the court to set aside the notification of Election Commission of Pakistan of Jan 19, 2023, declaring the respondent (Mr Imran) to have been elected as MNA from NA-45 (Kurram-I) as the same was illegal and in violation of the Constitution and the Elections Act, 2017.

The petitioners requested the court to bar the former prime minister from holding the position of the head of a political party (PTI) and declare illegal all his actions and decisions in that capacity.

Qazi Jawad Ehsanullah, the counsel for petitioners, said the ECP had announced on Sept 15, 2022, the holding of by-elections in eight National Assembly constituencies, including NA-45 Kurram tribal district.

He said PTI chief Imran had contested election on all eight seats, while the ECP declared him a returned candidate from seven of them, including NA-45, through a notification issued on Jan 19, 2023.

The lawyer also said the ECP issued an order on Feb 24 de-notifying the election of Mr Imran to six National Assembly seats, so he remained elected from the NA-45 constituency.

He argued that it was a matter of record that Mr Imran had, in his nomination papers, produced a false declaration of his assets and belongings concealing material information.

Mr Ehsanullah claimed that there was a long list of assets shown by the respondent in his income tax returns filed before the Federal Board of Revenue for the year 2021-22, but the same assets did not find any mention in the declaration of assets of the nomination papers.

He said the examination of those nomination papers revealed the concealment of Rs7 million jewellery, which the PTI chief “purchased and gifted” to his wife.

The lawyer said under Section 60 of the Elections Act read with Form A, an election candidate was obliged to submit and disclose all his assets and those of his spouse and dependent children.

He added that if the candidate concealed or held back assets and did not disclose the same, he was guilty of ‘making and publishing a false statement or declaration’ within the meaning of Section 173 of the Elections Act rendering himself not qualified or disqualified from being nominated and elected as a member of the National Assembly.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2023