PM moves PHC for dismissal of plea against him

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday sought reply from a petitioner in an application filed by Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking dismissal of a writ petition filed for his disqualification from holding public office.

A division bench comprising Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim issued notice to the respondent in the application of Prime Minister Imran Khan filed through his lawyers Babar Awan and Muhammad Habib Qureshi. The application has been filed under Section 151 of the CPC for the dismissal of the petition. The court directed the respondent, Inamullah Khan, to submit a reply to the application seeking dismissal of his petition on the ground of non-maintainability.

In the application filed by Imran Khan, it was submitted that the petitioner had concealed the Supreme Court’s declaration, which declared him ‘Sadiq’ and ‘Ameen’ under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution after detailed scrutiny of his assets.

The applicant said the petition was a blatant contempt of the Supreme Court judgment so it merited dismissal summarily. The applicant claimed that the petition was meant for blackmailing and suppressing facts and it amounted to perjury for which he reserved the right to initiate proper proceedings against the petitioner under the relevant provisions of civil, defamatory and criminal laws.

He said the petition was against the judgment of a returning officer before elections. It argued that the electoral laws, which provided remedies against pre-election grievances, weren’t availed by the petitioner and, therefore, the petition should be dismissed.

The petition seeking PM’s disqualification was filed by Inamullah Khan, a leader of Pakistan Justice and Democratic Party headed by the former chief justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, and a losing candidate in the NA-35 Bannu constituency in the July 2018 general election.

In the petition, it was claimed that Imran Khan being chief of the PTI had concealed important facts in his nomination papers and, therefore, he was not truthful and honest under the terms of Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

The petitioner had annexed certain documents, including judgments of the courts in the US about the case of Sita White and her daughter Tyrian White.

He said the PTI founder had also concealed the properties belonging to his wife, Bushra Bibi, in his nomination papers. The petitioner said the worth of the premier’s Banigala mansion was declared Rs11.4 million, which was below its actual value and that even at the time of its purchase the price of the land was around Rs50 million.