ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat approached the Supreme Court against rigging in the February 8 general elections, praying that the process of forming governments be held in abeyance till the final decision of this petition.
Sher Afzal, who has been elected MNA from NA-41, on Friday, filed a petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution through advocate Riaz Hanif Rahi, and cited the federal government through the secretary Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, secretary interior, secretary of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, members of the ECP, and chief secretaries of all four provinces as respondents.
He has prayed to set aside the appointment notifications of CEC Sikandar Sultan, and four members of the ECP – Baber Hassan Bharwana, Member (Punjab), former Justice Ikramullah Khan, Member (KPK), Shah Muhammad Jatoi, Member (Balochistan), and Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Member (Sindh) – as against the law and the constitution, and the order passed by them is illegal, coram non judice, without jurisdiction and of no legal effect.
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He further requested the Court to set aside the committee constituted by the ECP vide press release dated 17-02-24, to probe the allegations of Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Jatoi regarding rigging in the recent general elections. He also asked the court to direct the secretary Ministry of Interior to notify a Judicial Commission which may require compiling/consolidating/tabulating the overall election results including Rawalpindi Division on the basis of Form-45 afresh by keeping this petition as pending.
Sher Afzal also demanded of the court to set aside Form 47 of all the National and Provincial constituencies which have been prepared in violation of Section 13(3) of the Election Act, 2017.
The court has been asked to draw guidelines for all the executive and judicial functionaries seized of elections duties to prevent and obviate all the possibilities of corruption, corrupt practices, unfairness, unjust and abuse of process of law and constitution so as to ensure fair and transparent election in future.
He also requested that further process of forming governments may please be held in abeyance till the final decision of this petition or all the Election Commissions i.e. federal and provincials may please be restrained from passing any fresh order during the inquiry.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali, on February 21, disposed of Ali Khan’s petition seeking to annul the February 8 elections and fined him Rs0.5 million for a no-show.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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