PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Wednesday asked the prime minister and Election Commission of Pakistan to respond to a petition seeking Imran Khan’s disqualification from holding any public office on multiple grounds, including on the failure to mention his alleged daughter in nomination papers for the July 25 general elections.

Justice Ikramullah Khan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim fixed Dec 13 for the next hearing into the petition filed by NA-35, Bannu, candidate Inamullah Khan, a leader of the Pakistan Justice and Democratic Party.

Imran Khan had won the NA-35 seat in the July 25 elections but later vacated it to retain another National Assembly seat also won by him. During the last hearings, the court had sought a reply from the prime minister through the advocate general’s office.

However, the bench observed on Wednesday that as the premier’s name was mentioned in the petition, a notice should be issued to him.

Abdur Rasheed Khan and Hayatullah Khan, counsel for the petitioner, said Imran Khan had concealed important facts in his election nomination papers and therefore, he was not righteous and sagacious in line with articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

PJDP chief and former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had announced ahead of the elections that his party would challenge the candidature of Imran Khan in all constituencies the PTI had planned to contest election in.

Lawyer Rasheed Khan said the petitioner had raised important objections but the returning officer of the constituency rejected them and accepted the nomination papers of Imran Khan.

He added that the petitioner had also filed an appeal with the election appellate tribunal in Bannu but the appeal was turned down prompting him to file the instant petition.

The lawyer said the petitioner had annexed important documents including judgments of courts in US related to the famous case of Sita White and her daughter, Tyrian White, which proved that the latter was daughter of Imran Khan.

He alleged that while Mr Khan had not been admitting in Pakistan that Tyrian White was his daughter, he had admitted the fact in foreign countries.

The lawyer claimed that in the nomination papers, Imran Khan had only mentioned his two sons and not his daughter.

He said the premier had concealed the properties belonging to his spouse, Bushra Bibi, in the nomination papers.

The lawyer said the worth of Imran Khan’s Banigala mansion was only mentioned as Rs11.4 million, which was undervalued.

He added that even at the time of its purchase, the price of that land was around Rs50 million.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2018