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Elahi, Sanam among PTI candidates allowed by SC to contest Feb 8 polls

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  • Elahi’s counsel highlighted anomalies in the objections.
  • Voters should not be deprived of their right to vote: Justice Minallah.
  • Justice Shah says elections mean inclusion, not exclusion of people.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secured major relief from the top court on Friday as five of its candidates including incarcerated party president Parvez Elahi, were granted permission to contest the upcoming February 8 elections.

Besides Elahi, the Supreme Court on Friday approved appeals of PTI candidates Umer Aslam, Major (retd) Tahir Sadiq, Sanam Javaid Khan, and Shukat Basra against returning officer decisions to reject their nomination papers from different constituencies.

Elahi has been allowed to contest the general election from the PP-32 constituency of Gujarat district.

The former Punjab chief minister had approached the Supreme Court to contest the upcoming general elections and challenged the verdict of the Lahore High Court (LHC), upholding the Election Tribunal’s decision of rejecting his nomination papers.

The PTI president, presently confined in Adiala Jail, filed a petition in the apex court under Article 185(3) of the Constitution for leave to appeal against the judgment dated January 13, 2024, passed by the LHC in his petition.

Elahi nomination papers were rejected from National Assembly constituency NA-64 (Gujrat-III) and Punjab Assembly’s constituency PP-34 (Gujrat-VIII).

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Athar Minallah heard Elahi’s plea.

Advocate Faisal Siddiqui represented Elahi in the case.

Presenting his arguments, Elahi’s counsel highlighted anomalies in the objections raised by the rival candidates and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

“We don’t want a delay in elections,” Siddiqui told the bench. He implored the court to grant permission to his client to contest the upcoming elections in Gujarat.

Justice Minallah observed that voters should not be deprived of their right to vote.

He said a returning officer is supposed to facilitate and not obstruct the election process.

“It is strange that all this is happening to only one political party,” Justice Minallah remarked.

Justice Shah said elections call for the inclusion of people and not exclusion.

“Article 17 says that no one can be barred from contesting an election without valid reasons,” he said.

The SC judge said the Constitution allows enfranchisement and not disenfranchising the voters via elections.

After hearing the arguments, the apex court declared the RO’s decision to reject Elahi’s nomination papers from PP-32 invalid and allowed him to contest polls from the Gujarat provincial assembly seat.

Elahi withdrew appeals against the rejection of nomination papers from other constituencies including two NA seats.

A series of objections were raised against Elahi’s nomination papers, which included the concealing of assets, non-disclosure of shares in different companies, non-compliance with the rule to open separate bank accounts for expenditures in both constituencies, technical mistakes in documents and submitting documents without verification from the oath commission.

The senior PTI leader was initially arrested on June 1 last year in a Rs70 million graft case related to the embezzlement of development funds allocated for the Gujrat district and has been behind bars ever since.

He was released several times in between, only to be re-arrested immediately in different cases, including a money laundering case and allegations of illegal appointments in the Punjab Assembly.

Apart from Elahi, PTI candidates Tahir Sadiq and Omer Aslam Awan were allowed by the apex court to contest elections from NA- 49 (Attock) and NA-87 (Khushab) constituencies, respectively. 

Sanam has been allowed to contest polls from NA-119, NA-120, and PP-125 while Basra was cleared to fight elections from NA-163 (Bahawalnagar). 

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Sheikh Rasheed says PTI and government negotiations won’t provide any results.

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Sheikh Rasheed voiced his worries about the nation’s ongoing political dilemma while speaking outside the Anti-Terrorism Court.

According to Sheikh Rasheed, a committee was established to negotiate, but the process has not produced any tangible results. In order to emphasize the seriousness of the situation, he said, “Political conditions are extremely bad.”

He made the joke, “Even after war, if negotiations fail, then it will all come down to judo karate,” in reference to the next steps.

“Everyone there prays for Pakistan’s betterment,” Sheikh Rasheed, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, said. He emphasized the necessity for the nation’s circumstances to improve and stabilize.

Assad Qaiser, a former speaker and PTI leader, had earlier called on Speaker Ayaz Sadiq of the National Assembly to discuss the official start of talks with the government.

The two leaders shared their opinions on bringing parties together on matters of national importance and reducing political tensions and conflict.

“I will persuade my people, you persuade the hardliners in your party,” Ayaz Sadiq said to Assad Qaiser.

The party’s founder is in jail, and the PTI leadership has asked to meet with him. “We will continue to confer with him,” Assad Qaiser declared.

Earlier, PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai stated that if the discussions don’t begin, a campaign of civil disobedience will begin on December 14.

Speaking to the media Regarding the meetings, Yousafzai claimed that the government ministers were making insincere remarks.

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Bushra Bibi maintains bail as the IHC concludes the FIA’s petition.

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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) conducted a hearing about the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) plea for the revocation of Bushra Bibi’s bail.

The court, led by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, rejected the FIA’s petition during the hearing.

Judicial Proceedings

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb sought information regarding Bushra Bibi’s location, to which her attorney, Barrister Salman Safdar, affirmed her attendance in court.

The judge urged the counsel to regard the matters with gravity, underscoring the necessity of adherence to trial protocols.

The court sought details about instances where Bushra Bibi had been exempted from attending trial hearings and clarified that if the High Court grants bail and the accused fails to appear, the trial court holds the authority to cancel the bail.

Justice Aurangzeb assured that such actions would not amount to contempt of the High Court’s order.

Based on these considerations, the court closed the proceedings and dismissed the FIA’s plea.

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The Supreme Court has granted the appeal of the PTI founder for a judicial probe into the events of May 9.

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The Supreme Court has officially accepted the plea submitted by the PTI chairman for a judicial probe into the events of May 9 for a comprehensive hearing.

The constitutional bench of the Supreme Court annulled the registrar’s office’s objections to the petition and instructed the office to allocate a case number and arrange the hearing.

The PTI chairman was represented by prominent attorney Hamid Khan, who appeared in court to argue for the petition’s admission.

The Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) already convicted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in connection with the incidents on May 9 and denied his bail on eight distinct counts.

The court’s finding was delivered in a six-page written order by ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gul.

The written ruling emphasized substantial evidence against the PTI founder, comprising audio and visual recordings of his directives to incite violence.

The court observed that witnesses had provided testimony on the conspiracy planned by Imran Khan at Zaman Park, where he purportedly strategized for his possible arrest by intending to disrupt state functions via his supporters.

Imran Khan’s legal counsel contended that he was in custody at the time of the incidents, proposing that bail be granted in accordance with precedents where bail was awarded in like circumstances following detention.

Nevertheless, the court rejected this argument, underscoring that the case’s nature was not a trifling issue of conspiracy or incitement.

The prosecution established that Mr. Khan had explicitly incited assaults on military and governmental facilities and had galvanized both his commanders and supporters to adhere to his directives.

The decision additionally cited the Lahore High Court’s finding regarding a prior release granted to Ijaz Chaudhry, highlighting Imran Khan’s involvement in the conspiracy. The court dismissed the defense’s challenge over the prosecution’s lack of specificity concerning the date, time, or location of the purported conspiracy, affirming that the scheme was allegedly devised on May 7 and May 9 at Zaman Park.

The prosecution asserts that undercover police officers, masquerading as PTI supporters, intercepted discussions outlining the scheme.

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