PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Friday returned the petitions of five de-notified lawmakers from Punjab, including chief of Sunni Ittehad Council Sahibzada Mohammad Hamid Raza challenging their disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan, directing them to approach the relevant high court for the redressal of their grievance.

A bench consisting of Justice Wiqar Ahmad and Justice Mohammad Ijaz Khan observed that these petitions were not maintainable before that court.

The petitioners included disqualified MNAs Sahibzada Hamid Raza (NA-104 Faisalabad), Rai Haider Ali Khan (NA-96 Faisalabad) and Rai Hassan Nawaz Khan (NA-143 Sahiwal); and disqualified MPAs Mohammad Ansar Iqbal (PP-73 Sargodha) and Rai Mohammad Murtaza Iqbal (PP-203 Sahiwal).

They had challenged the Aug 5 notification of the ECP through which they, along with some other lawmakers, were disqualified and de-notified after their convictions by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad on July 31.

Directs petitioners to approach relevant high court

Counsel for petitioners Syed Sikander Hayat Shah requested the bench to restrain the ECP from proceeding further on the impugned notification of Aug 5.

He said that in identical cases of Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz and Zartaj Gul, the high court had issued stay orders and stopped the ECP from undertaking any further process pursuant to the impugned notification of Aug 5.

The lawyer said the petitioners were members of the national and provincial assemblies and were convicted and sentenced by the ATC in Faisalabad.

He argued that the ECP, in an arbitrary manner, disqualified the petitioners without fulfilling the constitutional and legal requirements.

Additional attorney general Sanaullah Khan and additional director general (law) of the ECP Khurram Shehzad opposed the petitions, insisting that the pleas were not maintainable.

Mr Shehzad contended that under Article 224 of the Constitution, the ECP was required to hold elections within 60 days after a seat became vacant.

He pointed out that these petitions involved three National Assembly and two Provincial Assembly seats, all of which were constituencies in Punjab. He argued that these cases could be heard in the Lahore High Court or the Islamabad High Court.

The ADG wondered how a case pertaining to a seat of Punjab Assembly could be challenged in the PHC. He added that pleas of two of the petitioners had already been rejected in Punjab.

AAG Sanaullah Khan argued that the petitioners were convicts of ATC and similar petitions had been rejected by the Lahore High Court.

The counsel for petitioners referred to a Supreme Court judgement, saying that in 1968, an election-related case from West Pakistan was filed in the East Pakistan High Court, which rejected the petition. He, however, said that the SC later ruled that it was maintainable.

He also referred to the case of a model Ayan Ali, stating that in that case, a notification of the Punjab Government was challenged in the Sindh High Court, and the apex court ruled that the SHC could hear it.

During the hearing, Justice Ijaz Khan observed: “If you approach the Islamabad High Court, the case can be heard there. The Election Commission of Pakistan is located in Islamabad.”

Sikander Khan replied that the same question had arisen in the ‘election symbol’ and ‘reserved seats’ cases, which were heard by the PHC. He added that the same objection was raised in those cases, but the Supreme Court never said that the PHC could not hear it.

He argued that the high court had also granted interim relief to Zartaj Gul on Aug 27 after which the ECP had suspended the election schedule earlier notified for her constituency in Dera Ghazi Khan.

“We only want the petitioners to be treated similarly,” he said, adding that the ATC had convicted the petitioners and the ECP disqualified them without waiting for the petitioners’ appeal.

About the petition of Zartaj Gul, the AAG said that they had not put forward the same argument in her case as they believed that she was an MNA from KP. He added that as she was speaking Pashto they thought she hailed from Dera Ismail Khan.

The bench finally decided to return the petitions due to a lack of jurisdiction.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2025