ISLAMABAD  -  The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Wednesday rejected Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan’s ap­plication seeking withdrawal of his petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) verdict in the Toshakhana reference. 

A single bench of IHC com­prising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Aamer Farooq an­nounced the verdict which he  had reserved after hearing the arguments of both the sides in the plea filed by Imran Khan through his counsel Barrister Ali Zafar seeking withdrawal of his petition challenging the ECP verdict in the Toshakha­na reference.

In this matter, the PTI Chair­man filed an application to withdraw his petition from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) due to his pending petition in  the LHC against the Toshakhana (gift deposi­tory) reference decision. In, the miscellaneous ap­plication, he adopted the stance that the LHC had constituted a full bench on the petition against the ECP’s Toshakhana deci­sion. It said that the ECP’s October 21 verdict had been challenged in the LHC along with the ECP’s move to strip Imran of par­ty chairmanship. The ap­plication said that the LHC full bench would examine all the legal aspects relat­ed to both the petitions. Previously, Khan’s counsel Barrister Ali Zafar made the submission before the court that it is bizarre that the ECP disqualified him for the assets that he legal­ly purchased and lawful­ly sold. The counsel adopt­ed the stance before the bench that Khan was elect­ed as MNA from NA-95 Mianwali in July 2018 but, through an illegal order of ECP dated 21/10/2022, it disqualified him from this seat under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution. The decision of the Speak­er to send the reference and order of ECP is uncon­stitutional and void ab ini­tio, he submitted.