Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) federal ministers Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz have withdrawn their appeals against disqualification from the general elections and removal as Senate opposition leader respectively, it emerged on Monday.
According to PTI Chairman Advocate Gohar Ali Khan’s statement before the Supreme Court, Ayub has withdrawn his appeal against his disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as he has no intention of contesting the upcoming elections. Instead, his wife will run a campaign for that seat.
The appeal against his removal as opposition leader in the National Assembly was also withdrawn and the new opposition leader has already been notified, Khan said.
As for Faraz, Khan informed the court that his appeal against his removal as leader of the opposition in the upper house had been withdrawn.
Read: High court to hear appeals of PTI’s Omar and Shibli
However, Faraz’s appeal against his disqualification by the ECP stands, Khan said, asking the court to issue notice on the matter.
During the hearing, Justice Aminuddin Khan asked whether both PTI leaders had surrendered.
Khan responded in the negative, adding that the matter was civil in nature and the party only intends to pursue Faraz’s case.
Justice Shakeel Ahmad asked about the date of the Senate by-elections.
To which Gohar responded that the by-elections are scheduled for October 30.
The Bench observed that very little time had been given for the by-elections and fixed the next hearing for October 29, notifying the ECP of the same.
A special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Faisalabad had sentenced senior PTI leaders Ayub, Faraz, Zartaj Gul and Hamid Raza to 10 years in prison each on July 31 for inciting violence on May 9, 2023, when protests broke out over the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises.
On August 5, the ECP disqualified nine PTI-affiliated legislators, including the leader of the opposition in the Senate, Faraz, and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Ayub.
On August 25, the ATC in Faisalabad sentenced the two PTI leaders and dozens of others to 10 years in prison each in another case related to an attack on PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah’s residence during the May 9, 2023 riots.
The PTI leaders first approached the Peshawar High Court, which dismissed their appeals as unsustainable on the grounds that they had not been submitted to the court. Later, Ayub and Faraz challenged their disqualification before the Supreme Court.
