Imran Khan, the chairman of the PTI, was disqualified in the Toshakhana reference, and the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday accepted a petition calling for his removal.
Regarding the maintainability of the petition submitted by attorney Mohammad Afaq, the LHC had delayed its decision as of Thursday.
Today, Punjab’s attorney general and advocate general received notices of Justice Sajid Mehmood Sethi’s ruling, which was also publicised. A response from the respondents was also requested by the court by November 11 (Friday).
Imran, the Pakistani government, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and other parties were named as respondents in the petition, a
copy of which may be found at Dawn.com.
The argument made in the plea was that it was a legal and constitutional necessity for party officeholders to be qualified in accordance with Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution under the terms of the Representation of the People Act of 1976 and Political Parties Order (PPO) of 2002.
It was “fair” for Imran to be denotified as the PTI chairman after he was disqualified from the NA-95 constituency, according to the plea, and an order should be made to that effect.
According to him, the Political Parties Order and its regulations prohibit a disqualified individual from leading a political party.
He claimed that Imran is breaking the law by continuing to lead the PTI, which was a registered party with the ECP.
The attorney asked the judge to instruct the ECP to oust Imran as PTI chairman and to issue instructions for the nomination of a new party leader.
Disqualification of Imran
Imran was disqualified from the Toshakhana reference in October by the Election Commission of Pakistan, which found that the former prime minister had made “false statements and erroneous declarations” about the gifts he had received.
The Toshakhana is a division under the administrative jurisdiction of the Cabinet Division that houses priceless presents that foreign dignitaries and heads of other governments and nations have given to monarchs, lawmakers, bureaucrats, and officials.
The Cabinet Division must be notified of any gifts, presents, or other similar materials that people to whom these regulations apply receive.
In August, lawmakers from the ruling coalition filed a reference alleging that Imran had not disclosed information about the gifts he had kept from the Toshakhana and the money from their alleged sales. The ECP came to the conclusion last month that the former premier had in fact made “false statements and incorrect declarations” regarding the gifts; this decision was met with a flurry of PTI protests.