LHC moved to de-seat 25 PTI MPAs, appoint new members on reserved seats

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) for ensuring the immediate de-seating of Punjab Assembly lawmakers disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and oath-taking of new members, ARY NEWS reported.

The application was submitted to Chief Justice Lahore High Court (LHC) by PTI’s counsel, who also shared details of the today’s happening at the Punjab Assembly.

He argued in his plea that dissident PTI lawmakers have no right to attend the Punjab Assembly’s proceedings after being disqualified and de-seated by the election commission. “The court should ensure oath of new members on reserved seats that fell vacant after PTI lawmakers got de-seated,” he said.

PTI counsel Azhar Siddique said that the chief justice has asked them to submit the plea tomorrow as per the procedure. “The plea will be taken up by the court tomorrow,” he said.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday de-seated 25 dissident Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPAs who voted for PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz Sharif in Punjab chief minister election.

The election body had reserved its verdict on Tuesday on the reference seeking disqualification of 25 dissident PTI MPAs of the Punjab Assembly. The reference against deviant members was filed by Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

The dissident Punjab lawmakers include Abdul Aleem Khan, Nazir Ahmed Chohan, Uzma Kardar, Faisal Hayat, Raja Sagheer Ahmed, Malik Ghulam Rasool Sangha, Saeed Akbar Khan, Mohammad Ajmal, Mohammad Amin Zulqernain, Malik Nauman Langrial, Mohammad Salman, Zawar Hussain Warraich, Nazir Ahmed Khan, Fida Hussain, Zahra Batool, Mohammad Tahir, Aisha Nawaz, Sajida Yousaf, Haroon Imran Gill, Malik Asad Ali, Ijaz Masih, Mohammad Sabtain Raza, Mohsin Atta Khan Khosa, Mian Khalid Mehmood and Mehar Mohammad Aslam.

Read More: SC VERDICT ON ARTICLE 63 (A): ‘DEFECTING LAWMAKERS’ VOTES WILL NOT BE COUNTED’

The ECP decision comes days after SC’s decision on the interpretation of Article 63 (A), announcing that defective votes will not be counted.