LHC to hear plea to restore Nawaz as PMLN president

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) is set to hear a petition on Tuesday (today) requesting the reinstatement of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as president of the PMLN.

The petition has been categorised as an “objection case” after it was initially rejected by the registrar’s office on the grounds of non-maintainability. The office argued that since Nawaz Sharif had been disqualified by the Supreme Court, the petition could not be entertained by the Lahore High Court.

Advocate Muhammad Afaq filed the petition, naming PTI chairman Imran Khan, Awami Muslim League chairman Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, the election commission, and the federal government as respondents.

The lawyer argued that after Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification in the Panama Papers case in 2017, the Supreme Court had prohibited him from leading his party. However, he pointed out that former prime minister Imran Khan had been disqualified by the election commission for submitting a false declaration in NA-95, yet he had not been barred from heading his party.