- PHC bench issues notices to ECP, other respondents while hearing Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz’s pleas against de-notification
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday issued a stay order, halting the appointments of new opposition leaders in the National Assembly and the Senate following the disqualification and removal of PTI’s Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz from their respective roles.
On August 5, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Ayub and Faraz, along with other opposition MNAs and MPAs, following their convictions by the antiterrorism courts in three cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots.
Subsequently, on August 8, both leaders were removed from their posts through notifications issued by the NA and Senate secretariats.
A division bench comprising Justices Arshad Ali and Dr Khurshid Iqbal took up separate petitions filed earlier by Ayub and Faraz against the denotification of their parliamentary roles.
PTI interim chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan appeared as the counsel for both the petitioners.
The bench issued notices to the ECP and other respondents, directing them to halt the appointments for the opposition leader in both houses of the parliament, which are currently vacant.
The court adjourned the hearing till August 15 (Friday), seeking replies from the respondents.
During the hearing, Gohar informed the bench of the details of recent developments. “When an MNA becomes the opposition leader, then the ECP’s role does not remain anymore,” he asserted.
“May 9 was an unfortunate incident, which should not have happened,” the PTI leader said. He contended that the ECP recently also disqualified MNA Abdul Latif from the NA-1 by “citing the wrong reference of the [2012] Azhar Siddique case.”
“We won 180 seats, entered the parliament with 90 seats, and are now left with 23,” the PTI lawyer lamented.
“Now the government wants to bring another party’s opposition leader,” Gohar claimed, requesting the court to issue directives to stop any further action against Ayub and Faraz.
A PHC bench comprising Justice Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed had also barred the ECP from taking any action against Ayub and Faraz on August 6, but to no avail since the order came a day after their disqualification.
The court had also granted the two leaders, as well as Zartaj Gul, protective bail till August 20.
