PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing into two petitions, which sought the disqualification of former prime minister Imran Khan from becoming the National Assembly’s member as well as heading his party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

The adjournment came from a bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Wiqar Ahmad after counsel for the petitioners, including leaders of the Awami National Party and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, didn’t show up.

The court declared that it won’t put any of the respondents on notice without hearing the lawyers for petitioners.

A lawyer for petitioners told the bench at the start of the hearing that lead counsel Qazi Jawad Ahsanullah and Naveed Akhtar couldn’t turn up for being busy with some Supreme Court cases.

Adjournment comes as counsel for ANP, JUI-F busy with SC cases

Deputy attorney general Sanaullah requested the bench to set an early date for the next hearing.

However, the bench wondered why he was interested in early hearing as he was not representing the petitioners.

Justice Wiqar Ahmad observed that respondent Imran Khan had so far not taken oath as an MNA of the NA-45 Kurram tribal district constituency.

One of the petitions is jointly filed by ANP provincial president Aimal Wali Khan and Mohammad Tufail, a voter from NA-45 Kurram district.

The petitioners contended that Mr Imran had concealed his assets as well as that of his spouse in his nomination papers filed for the National Assembly by-elections in Oct last year due to which he stood disqualified from holding any public office under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

They requested the high court to declare that on account of concealment of his and his spouse assets, ex-PM Imran was, on the day he filed nomination papers, not qualified to be elected as the member of the National Assembly.

The petitioners also sought the court’s verdict declaring that by filing a false declaration of his assets with his nomination papers, he had permanently rendered himself disqualified from holding any public office, including that of an MNA.

They requested the court to set aside the notification of Election Commission of Pakistan of Jan 19, 2023, declaring the respondent (Imran) to have been elected as MNA from NA-45 (Kurram-I) as the same was illegal and in violation of the Constitution and the Elections Act, 2017.

The petitioners requested the court to bar the former prime minister from holding the position of the head of a political party (PTI) and declare illegal all his actions and decisions in that capacity.

They claimed that there was a long list of assets shown by the respondent in his income tax returns filed before the Federal Bureau of Revenue for the year 2021-22, but the same assets did not find any mention in the declaration of assets of the nomination papers.

The second petition is filed by JUI-F office secretary Ahmad Ali and former candidate of the party during by-polls in Kurram tribal district in October last year Jamil Khan, seeking disqualification of Imran Khan from contesting elections to the National and provincial assemblies on multiple grounds.

The petitioners requested the court to declare that the PTI chief was not qualified under Article 62(1)(d), (e), (f) and (g) of the Constitution, so he should be disqualified from contesting elections in the country.

They claimed that respondent Imran violated Islamic principles and committed a major sin as he solemnised nikkah with his present spouse at a time when her Iddat period of four months and 10 days after divorce from her previous husband was not covered.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2023