LAHORE: PTI Punjab chief organiser Aliya Hamza Malik has approached the Lahore High Court assailing the appointment of a retired judge as an election tribunal hearing challenges to the Feb 8 polls results of NA-118, Lahore.

Ms Malik had contested the 2023 general election from NA-118 against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s son Hamza Shehbaz. She alleged that the results had been altered to benefit Hamza.

As per the results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan, Hamza bagged 105,960 votes and Ms Malik secured 100,803.

A petition by the former MNA argued that the election tribunal led by former judge Rana Zahid Mahmood was not lawfully established as the presiding officer was not a former judge of the high court.

It said the tribunal member was removed from the office of the LHC judge in the light of a 2009 Supreme Court judgement against the appointments of judges made during the tenure of PCO chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar. Therefore, it argued that the respondent judge was not qualified to be a member of an election tribunal.

The petition asked the court to restrain the respondent election tribunal from hearing the election petitions regarding NA-118, Lahore.

It further urged the court to set aside an amendment to the Election Act 2017, which allows the appointment of retired judges as election tribunals.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2025