Disqualification reference: ECP gives Omar Ayub time till July 1

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday began hearing the disqualification reference against Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan and granted him time on his request for preparation and hiring a lawyer.

The full ECP bench, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, heard the matter while Omar Ayub went to the rostrum and citing his official engagements, sought time and urged for taking up the reference late in June or in July.

His opponent in the 2024 elections, Babar Nawaz, had filed a reference against Omar Ayub and on the basis of the material he submitted to the NA speaker, a reference was forwarded to the ECP a few days back.

“I have yet to appoint a lawyer. The budget session is starting and I am a member of the finance committee, where the budget meeting takes two weeks. Give me time to hold the budget session and appoint a lawyer. The hearing be held now in the month of July,” he requested the forum.

Member of the Election Commission from Sindh Nisar Ahmad Durrani said there was a 90-day time limit on the speaker reference. Later, the ECP accepted Omar Ayub’s request and adjourned the hearing until July 1.

During the hearing of another case, filed by Babar Nawaz under Sections 8, 9 and 95 of the Elections Act, 2017, Omar Ayub’s lawyer also sought time to submit the reply and arguments, on which the Election Commission adjourned the hearing till June 24. Talking to the media after the hearing, Omar Ayub said the National Assembly speaker did not consult him regarding the reference prior to forwarding it to the ECP. He recalled that in the 2018 election, he had defeated his opponent by 40,000 votes while there was no local body election held in 2023.

“My opponent also went to the Abbottabad High Court and his position was rejected. The speaker sent this reference to the Election Commission on the basis of some pressure or ill will,” he charged. He claimed that the basis of the case against him was weak and that there was nothing in the case, whereas there are countless cases against him in the anti-terrorism court at the moment. “All these cases are a pre-planned programme. We stand firmly with the founder PTI and his ideology,” he added.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan has written to Speaker Ayaz Sadiq seeking “clarity, transparency and legal justification” regarding a disqualification reference against him forwarded by the speaker to the Election Commission of Pakistan. According to the letter to the Speaker, Omar Ayub has requested for “provision of legal basis, attested copy and record of proceedings pertaining to the reference forwarded to the ECP”. Omar Ayub claimed that the Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has not applied his mind as required by law before sending the reference to the ECP. Sending a reference based on issues that have been repeatedly rejected by ROs and the high court since the last seven years proves the mala fide intent of the speaker and the government. He vowed as a worker of the PTI and Imran Khan, he would continue to speak the truth and face all cases initiated against him.