SC issues notices in Shibli disqualification case, allows Omar to withdraw appeal

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday issued notices to all parties concerned in the case pertaining to the disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former senator Shibli Faraz.

A five-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Shakeel Ahmed, heard the appeals filed by former opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate, Omar Ayub Khan and Shibli Faraz, respectively.

During the proceedings, the court allowed Omar Ayub to withdraw his appeal against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) notification disqualifying him from holding public office. His counsel, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, informed the bench that Omar Ayub had chosen to withdraw the plea as his wife would be contesting the by-election for his vacated National Assembly seat.

Barrister Gohar stated that Omar Ayub also wished to withdraw the petition challenging his de-notification as leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, as Mahmood Khan Achakzai had since been appointed to the position.

Regarding Shibli Faraz, the counsel said that while his client intended to withdraw the petition against the Senate chairman’s notification, he would continue to pursue the appeal challenging the ECP’s disqualification order. He added that elections for Shibli Faraz’s vacated Senate seat were scheduled for October 30.

After hearing initial arguments, the apex court issued notices to the relevant parties in Shibli Faraz’s case and adjourned further proceedings until October 29. The ECP had earlier disqualified Omar Ayub Khan and Shibli Faraz from public office for five years, following an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) verdict in Faisalabad that sentenced them — along with several other PTI leaders, including Zartaj Gul and Hamid Raza — to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment in absentia in connection with the May 9, 2023, protests and the attack on the residence of PMLN leader Rana Sanaullah.

Both PTI leaders were declared absconders after failing to surrender before the court, prompting the ECP to de-seat them from Parliament. Subsequently, they challenged the decision before the Peshawar High Court (PHC), which issued a stay order on August 6, 2025, restraining further adverse action against them.

Later, the National Assembly speaker and the Senate chairman filed appeals against the PHC’s decision. During those proceedings, the PHC Division Bench granted the petitioners transit bail on October 1, 2025, directing them to surrender before the ATC in Faisalabad. Both Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz have now approached the Supreme Court under Article 185(3) of the Constitution, challenging the interim order of the PHC Division Bench.