A bank of three members of the Superior Court of Lahore, headed by the President of Justice Aalia Neelum, suspended on Wednesday the calendar of partial elections issued by the Pakistan Electoral Commission (ECP) for NA-175 after the disqualification of Jamshed Dasti de PTI.
The petitioner had challenged his disqualification before the Fine Bank of the LHC. Due to the sensitivity of the matter, the bank proposed the constitution of a larger bank and sent the case to the main seat of the court.
Subsequently, the petitioner presented an additional statement in search of an early hearing, calling the court’s attention to the election schedule announced by the ECP. He argued that delaying the audience would be equivalent to depriving him of his legal right. The petitioner also said that the funds were being assigned for development projects, which would be wasted if the ECP decision was revoked later.
When the procedures began, the petitioner’s lawyer argued that the ECP does not have the authority to disqualify a candidate without the declaration of a court. He argued that the ECP had violated the procedure to disqualify its client.
The lawyer Ishtiaq Chaudhry informed the court that the matter originated in the requests received by the president of the National Assembly, who later sent a reference to the ECP. He cited a sentence of the Supreme Court that indicates that the ECP cannot disqualify a person without a judicial statement and said that the procedure was not followed in the case of Dasti.
After the arguments, the bank suspended the ECP partial election schedule and issued an ECP notice to present its answer.
After journalists, Jamshed Dasti said he was being punished for standing with Imran Khan. He expressed optimism in the Judiciary and expected justice to be served.
