LHC suspends ECP orders of de-notifying 43 PTI MNAs

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) orders to de-notify 43 MNAs of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The court also stopped the by-polls in the relevant constituencies till further orders.

Justice Shahid Karim passed the orders on a petition filed by Riaz Fatyana and 42 other former MNAs against acceptance of their resignations by the National Assembly speaker and subsequent action of the ECP.

The court also issued notices to the ECP and other respondents and sought their reply.

During the proceedings, Barrister Ali Zafar, representing the petitioners, pleaded with the court to set aside the orders of de-notifying his clients, as the legal requirements had not been fulfilled for the purpose.

At this, the court questioned what requirements had not been fulfilled.

The counsel for the petitioners submitted that before accepting the resignations, the speaker did not hold an inquiry as per the Constitution.

He further submitted that the petitioners did not appear before the speaker for acceptance of their resignations.

The speaker could not accept the resignations of members without hearing their stance, he contended.

The court, after hearing arguments of the counsel, suspended the ECP orders of de-notifying the petitioners and sought reply from the respondents.

Last month, the ECP had de-notified the 43 MNAs on a summary forwarded by the National Assembly Speaker.

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, after accepting the resignations of 43 MNAs, had forwarded the summary to the ECP for further action, as per law.