PESHAWAR; The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has restrained the National Assembly speaker and Senate chairman from appointing leaders of the opposition in their respective chambers, following the denotification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz from top parliamentary roles.
The directive was issued on Tuesday by a two-member bench comprising Justice Arshad Ali and Justice Khurshid Iqbal during a hearing on PTI’s petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) move. The court also barred the electoral body from taking any further action against the party’s lawmakers and adjourned the case until August 15.
Last week, the ECP de-notified nine PTI legislators, including Ayub and Faraz, after their convictions in the May 9 cases. The disqualified members from the National Assembly included Ayub (NA-18 Haripur), Rai Hassan Nawaz (NA-143 Sahiwal-III), Zartaj Gul (NA-185 DG Khan-II), Rai Haider Ali (NA-96 Faisalabad-II), and Sahibzada Hamid Raza (NA-104 Faisalabad-X). Punjab Assembly members Muhammad Ansar Iqbal (PP-73 Sargodha-III), Junaid Afzal (PP-98 Faisalabad-I), and Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal (PP-203 Sahiwal-VI) were also removed.
The disqualifications were made under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution, which bars individuals from being elected if convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced to at least two years’ imprisonment. The action followed a Faisalabad special anti-terrorism court’s verdict sentencing 108 out of 185 accused, including Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Hamid Raza, to 10 years in prison.
Speaking to reporters, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan welcomed the PHC’s order, accusing the ECP of discrimination and denying due process. He claimed that PTI lawmakers were “disqualified overnight” without being heard and reiterated that political disputes should be resolved through dialogue, lamenting that even party negotiators were denied access to PTI founder Imran Khan.
