IHC dismisses petition against press club elections

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging the recent polls of National Press Club (NPC) Islamabad while declaring the plea as non-maintainable.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah, hearing the case, remarked that it was a point of concern if the journalists’ community could not arrange peaceful elections. The court observed that it could not interfere into NPC’s polls’ process.

The petition was filed by the defeated candidate for president in NPC polls Shakil Qarar. The court instructed the petitioners to resolve the dispute internally and avoid to involve judiciary in it.

The petitioner’s lawyer said that counting of votes was done under the supervision of police. The police were also harassing the applicants through phone calls, he added. The court did not allow the petitioner to speak before it and subsequently turned down the case. It may be mentioned here that journalist Anwar Raza had been elected as President NPC and Khalil Mehmood Raja as Secretary in recent elections.