PTI seeks LHC order to de-seat defecting party members

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday issued notices over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) petition seeking to de-seat the party’s defecting members, ARY News reported.

The petition has been filed from Sibtain Khan, a PTI leader.

The LHC has issued notices and also summoned reply from the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The petitioner said that the defecting members had cast their votes in the chief minister’s election to rival candidate Hamza Shehbaz.

According to the petition, party chairman Imran Khan has issued show cause notices to the defecors and a reference has been sent to the election commission.

The petitioner sought the court’s order for the election commission to de-notify the defecting legislators of the party.

It is pertinent to mention here that the ECP has called the PTI’s members of Punjab Assembly on May 06, who were involved in floor-crossing.

The PTI had sent the reference of the defecting members to the election commission.

The election commission under Article 63-A of the constitution has been bound to decide the matter within 30 days.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi last week sent reference against 26 dissident MPAs of PTI to the election commission, seeking their lifetime disqualification for violating party discipline.

PTI chief whip, on behalf of former prime minister Imran Khan, handed over the reference to Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. The disqualification reference against the PTI members was moved under Article-63 of the Constitution.

It is pertinent to mention here that Hamza Shehbaz was elected Chief Minister Punjab during a Punjab Assembly session that saw unprecedented violence resulting in attacks on Speaker Parvez Elahi and Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari.

Dissident lawmakers of the PTI, who were part of Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan groups, played a key part in the election of the PML-N leader.