Imran Khan disqualification reference heard in IHC

Imran Khan disqualification reference heard in IHC

ISLAMABAD: (APP) The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday summoned Deputy Attorney General (DAG) for assistance in a petition challanging disqualification reference pending against Imran Khan (PTI Chief) at Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Chief Justice Anwar Khan Kasi summoned DAG while hearing identical petitions moved by PTI Chief imran Khan seeking formation of larger bench.

During the course of proceedings, Babar Awan counsel for the petitioner moved civil miscellaneous application (CMA) arguing that the reference filed against Khan now became time barred as ninety days passed with regard to reference being pending before the ECP.

Awan was of the view that the ECP was bound to decide this reference within 90 days and now it has exceeded the time limit, thus ECP has lost its jurisdiction.

He argued that speaker national assembly under article 63 (2) could forward a disqualification reference to ECP within 30 days while under article 63 (3) " the ECP shall decide the question within ninety days from its receipt".

It is pertinent to mention here that the main petition was pending before Justice Aamir Farooq and he had sought comments from the attorney general office on the previous hearing.

This reference was field to the speaker national assembly by the ruling PML-N MNAs seeking disqualification of Imran Khan.

The Speaker then referred the matter to ECP for decision.