Islamabad - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Monday filed a writ petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking court’s directions to stop the elections for chairman and deputy chairman of Senate until cases of GG Jamal and Raheela Magsi are pending before the IHC.
A division bench of IHC comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamir Farooq will hear this case here on Tuesday (today).
The petitioner, Central Information Secretary of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Dr Shireen Mazari, moved the court through his counsel M Shoaib Razzaq Advocate and cited federation of Pakistan, chief election commissioner and Election Commission of Pakistan as respondents.
She contended that the IHC bench has been conducting hearing in the petitions where the act of PML-N awarding Senate ticket to a Sindh resident Raheela Magsi from Islamabad was challenged and the court had sought reply from the federation that whether people belonging to one province could be awarded tickets from other province.
Dr Shireen continued that in the said matter the IHC bench had restrained ECP from issuing victory notification of Raheela Magsi till adjudication of the matter.
Similarly in another matter, GG Jamal has also challenged the presidential ordinance whereby the right of vote for FATA’s members of national assembly (MNAs) was limited to one vote instead of four. Consequent to the confusion due to presidential ordinance, the election of senators from FATA was halted.
Therefore, Dr Shireen prayed to the court that till the adjudication of these petitions, the election of chairman and deputy chairman Senate may be restrained as the Upper House is not complete yet.
Meanwhile, a dual bench of IHC comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamir Farooq has clarified an order regarding a PML-N elected Senator Iqbal Zafar Jhagra that it did not stop ECP from issuing victory notification of Jhagra and the order was to the extent of Raheela Magsi.
Jhagra through his counsel Akram Sheikh Advocate argued before the court that ECP has not been notifying his client’s victory due to an order of IHC. The IHC division bench, however, said that it had just restrained ECP in the matter of Raheela Magsi only.
Separately, in another matter, a Balochistan National Party-Awami (BNP-A) leader Mir Israrullah Zehri has filed a writ petition before the IHC seeking to restrain the administration of oath to a newly elected PML-N Senator Kalsoom Perveen.
Zehri has adopted before the IHC that Kalsoom Perveen remained a Senator of BNP-A for six years and now she has got ticket from PML-N and became Senator. Therefore, he prayed to the court that her oath administration may be restrained.
An IHC bench would also hear this matter here on Tuesday (today).