PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Friday halted the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from taking further action on its recent notification that de-notified Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Abdul Lateef from Chitral and declared his National Assembly seat vacant.
A division bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr. Khurshid Iqbal issued notices to the ECP, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and other concerned parties, seeking their response to Abdul Lateef’s petition challenging the July 29 notification.
The court scheduled the next hearing for August 20.
In his petition, Abdul Lateef urged the court to declare the ECP’s disqualification order and the related notification as unconstitutional, unlawful, and beyond its legal authority. He argued that the decision was taken in violation of due process and the principles of natural justice.
The petition also called for nullifying the reference against him forwarded by the National Assembly Speaker.
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Representing Lateef, senior lawyer Muhammad Muazzam Butt requested the court to provide interim relief by suspending the ECP’s notification. He warned that without court intervention, the ECP might proceed to announce a by-election schedule for the now-vacant seat.
While the bench noted that the notification had already been issued and attained legal finality, it accepted the argument to restrain the ECP from taking any further steps, including the announcement of by-elections.
Lateef’s disqualification stems from a conviction handed down by an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad earlier in May, related to his alleged involvement in the violent protests on May 9, 2023.