LAHORE: Justice Ali Baqar Najafi of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday sustained an office objection and dismissed a petition seeking restoration of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as president of the PML-N.

The registrar office raised an objection to the maintainability of the petition saying as the former premier Nawaz Sharif had been disqualified by the Supreme Court, therefore, the petition was not maintainable before the high court.

Justice Najafi took up the petition as an `objection case` and sustained the office objection.

Advocate Muhammad Afaq filed the petition and arrayed Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, Awami Muslim League Chairman Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the federal government, as respondents.

The lawyer pleaded that the Supreme Court had barred Nawaz Sharif from heading his party following his disqualification in the Panama Papers case.

He said the ECP also disqualified former prime minister Imran Khan from NA-95 on charges of submitting false declarations.

However, he said, Imran Khan had not been restrained from heading his party (like Mr Sharif).

Therefore, the petitioner asked the court to restore Nawaz Sharif as president of the party.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2023