PHC reserves verdict on PTI plea for polls under judiciary's supervision

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday reserved its verdict on a plea by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seeking the holding of February 8 general elections under the supervision of the judiciary, ARY News reported.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan and Justice Shakeel Ahmad presided over the hearing, prompted by PTI’s Advocate Muazzam Butt.

On behalf of the PTI, Muazzam Butt filed the petition in which he has taken the stand that the election should be conducted under the supervision of the judiciary, fearing that the elections to be held on Feb 8, 2024 may not be transparent.

The petitioner’s counsel has also filed an amendment petition seeking annulment of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) appointment of returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) from bureaucracy.

Dring the hearing today, PTI’s counsel argued that the deployment of polling staff should have occurred two months before the elections, raising concerns about the ECP’s readiness for transparent polls.

However, responding to the PTI’s plea against ECP’s notification, PHC Chief Justice Ibrahim said: “The Supreme Court decision binds us and cannot go against it.”

The chief justice was referring to the Supreme Court’s December 15 verdict, suspending the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) ruling on the appointment of returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) from the bureaucracy, which casted uncertainty over holding of general polls.

The Pakistan Supreme Court issued a contempt of court notice to Barrister Umair Niazi – who filed the petition on behalf of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – seeking an explanation as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.

A three-member top court bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa also directed the ECP to issue the poll schedule and ensure timely elections on the said date. Following this, the ECP issued the election schedule on the same day.

Read More: SC annuls high court’s order about delimitations in Balochistan

Today, the PHC inquired about the ECP’s consultation process with the chief justice and the National Judicial Policy Committee concerning election transparency.

“Can transparent elections be held under such circumstances? What guarantee is there that the mentality of DCs who have repeatedly issued MPO-3 orders will change?” questioned the PHC chief justice.

To this, the attorney general said that the MPO-3 orders are being issued on the basis of the May 9 riots.

“May 9 has passed, what is the basis of the MPO-3 orders being now?” Justice Ibrahim questioned.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court then reserved the verdict which is to be announced later.