IN Mianwali, the hometown of its founder Imran Khan, the PTI is fielding one of its brightest young prospects.

Until 2022, Barrister Umair Khan Niazi had been silently working behind the scenes for nine years as part of the party’s legal team. However, the legal troubles of the founding chairman and his party have pulled him into the limelight.

Now, Mr Niazi is the party’s primary candidate from NA-90, while his sister Laamia Khan Niazi and father Advocate Ziaullah Khan Niazi are both covering candidates.

Having served as an additional advocate general in Punjab until May 2022, Mr Niazi is currently the PTI additional general secretary and a focal person to Imran Khan on legal affairs.

A law graduate from University College London, Mr Niazi is an expert in land, revenue, labour and services law and has 17 years of experience arguing cases in various courts.

Talking about his political journey, he told Dawn that he joined the party in 2013.

“I joined PTI because it resonated with my vision of a just and prosperous nation. It is a political party which values education and progress. Ever since I have joined politics, I have utilised my education and expertise to its maximum potential,” he said.

Mr Niazi recently shot to fame after he successfully filed a writ petition before the Lahore High Court (LHC) challenging the appointment of bureaucrats as returning officers (RO) in December 2023. Although LHC’s Justice Ali Baqar Najafi suspended the ECP notification in this regard and referred the petition to the chief justice to constitute a larger bench on the issue, a Supreme Court intervention turned the tables in the case.

Not only did the apex court suspend the high court’s order, Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa threatened Mr Niazi with contempt proceedings, seeking an explanation of why he had filed the petition against appointment of ROs when the Supreme Court had ruled that no hurdles to the election process would be tolerated by the courts.

Talking about the state of the legal system, Mr Niazi said although laws were there, there is a clear lack of implementation.

“After spending 17 years in the legal practice, I have come to know that yes, laws exist, but implementation is nowhere to be found. As a lawyer, I have handled very complicated cases as well, both political and non-political, and my impression has not changed,” he said.

“I have seen the inside and outside of the system, and I am determined to work [to better it],” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2024