Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPs Demand Chief Justice Step Down From Election Tribunals

Nine Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) affiliated candidates, who contested the February 8 elections in various national and provincial assembly constituencies, have demanded the recusal of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa from the bench hearing the matter of the Election Tribunals appointed in Punjab for addressing election disputes, The News International reported.

A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the CJP, is scheduled to take up the appeal of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the Lahore High Court’s judgment regarding the formation of election tribunals in Punjab to address disputes from the February 8 general elections. The bench members, in addition to Justice Qazi Faez Isa, include Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi.

On July 4, the apex court suspended the LHC judgment and its notification regarding the appointment of eight election tribunals in Punjab. This suspension remained in effect until consultations between the LHC Chief Justice and ECP were completed.

In their application to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, the PTI-affiliated lawmakers requested permission to file their applications for the recusal of Justice Isa from the bench hearing the election tribunal issue. The nine PTI-affiliated candidates are Shaukat Iqbal Mirza, Raja Rasheed Hafeez, Saad Ali Khan, Chaudhry Muhammad Nazir, Hassan Addel, Nasir Khan, Seemabia Tahir, and Shehryar Riaz. These lawmakers are respondents in the election tribunals case.

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They informed the apex court registrar that they had attempted to register a civil miscellaneous application requesting the recusal of the Chief Justice on certain legal grounds. However, the Advocate-on-Record (AOR) did not file their applications for reasons not disclosed. There was no written communication about this issue.

The lawmakers also mentioned that they had tried to submit the application in person, but the Institution Branch at the Supreme Court did not accept it, stating that it could not be filed in person. They argued that they should not be prevented from filing an application for the fair adjudication of the matter.

They urged the Registrar to permit them to file the appeal in person, as the matter is scheduled for hearing on August 19. Meanwhile, Salman Akram Raja’s lawyer, Hamid Khan, has requested an adjournment in the case. Khan filed an application through Advocate-on-Record Syed Rifaqat Hussain, requesting the adjournment due to Khan being out of the country from August 16 to September 6 and thus unable to appear before the court on August 19.

(WITH INPUTS FROM ANI)

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