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.