NA-18 Haripur ‘rigging’: IHC reserves verdict on Omar Ayub’s plea against ECP

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday reserved its decision on the plea of opposition leader Omar Ayub against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP’s) proceeding to investigate the alleged rigging in NA-18, Haripur.

Acting Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar conducted the hearing during which ECP’s lawyer Sajjeel Swati and the counsel of PTI leader Omar Ayub were present. Ayub’s lawyer said the ECP had to decide on the petition within 60 days, adding that after 60 days the proceeding of the commission was illegal. Ayub had won the election by a huge margin, he claimed, adding the rival candidate also accepted Ayub’s victory and even tweeted about it. The ECP’s lawyer said Ayub himself had first complained about rigging on the election day, and when the PTI leader was said to have won in the evening, the rival candidate also filed a complaint about rigging. When the ECP started proceedings on both petitions, Ayub submitted a writ petition in the High Court, the lawyer said, adding the commission had not yet issued any order and prayed the court to dismiss the petition. After hearing arguments from both the sides, the court reserved its decision on Ayub’s petition. Former IHC chief justice Aamir Farooq had issued a stay order on the ECP for taking any action in this regard. The court had sought responses from the ECP, NA-18 returning officer, district returning officer and rival candidate Babar Nawaz Khan.