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Rana Yasif
May 19, 2023
LAHORE: In a significant development, Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has suspended the de-notification of the Election Commissioner of Pakistan (ECP), thereby restoring the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) 72 Members of the National Assembly (MNAs).
The court has directed the MNAs to appear before the Speaker of the National Assembly, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, to formally withdraw their resignations.
The decision comes as a result of multiple petitions filed by the 72 MNAs, urging the court to nullify the notifications issued by Speaker Pervaiz Ashraf, who accepted their resignations, and the ECP's notification, which de-notified them and declared their seats vacant.
After hearing extensive arguments, Justice Shahid Karim reserved the decision and subsequently announced the suspension of the de-notification. Justice Karim has instructed the speaker to reconsider the matter after hearing the petitioners once again, taking into account their arguments and concerns.
During the court proceedings, Barrister Ali Zafar, the counsel for the petitioners, argued that the resignations had been retracted before their acceptance. He questioned how the speaker could accept the resignations under such circumstances, emphasising that accepting resignations without adhering to the legal framework would undermine the rules and suggest malicious intent on the part of the speaker.
The petitioner's counsel further highlighted that the speaker failed to individually summon the MNAs to ascertain their voluntary decision to tender resignations. According to the counsel, the speaker had initially promised to call each MNA individually to determine their stance. However, when the time came, he accepted the resignations without following through on this commitment.
Barrister Ali Zafar urged the court that the collective resignations of 123 MNAs, including the petitioners, were solely aimed at reaching an agreement with opposition parties to facilitate fresh elections. The objective was to establish a new government with the true mandate of the people of Pakistan and resolve the current impasse, he added.
The petitioner argued that the then acting speaker, former deputy speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri, initially accepted the resignations. However, the new speaker, Pervaiz Ashraf, after assuming office, reversed the decision and instructed the secretariat to resubmit the resignations for verification, in accordance with the judgments of superior courts.
The speaker subsequently decided to conduct an inquiry and verify each resignation by individually contacting and confirming the willingness of each MNA to resign. However, when the MNAs were called for verification, they did not appear, resulting in the non-acceptance of their resignations.
As a result, neither did the MNAs approach the speaker for verification nor did he call them again, leading to the continuation of the status quo. Consequently, the original resignations became irrelevant in the context of the petitioners' claims.
The petitioners further argued that the resignations were never officially notified or formally accepted by the National Assembly. Following the change of regime, the speaker declared that the verification process would start afresh. However, later on, the speaker, in violation of the law and his own ruling, accepted some resignations.
The petitioners maintain that the actions taken by the speaker and the ECP are illegal and against the law. They have requested the court to declare that the petitioners had withdrawn their resignations through their conduct, words, and written communication, in accordance with the law, prior to any acceptance of the resignations.
tribune.com.pk
LHC suspends ECP’s de-notification, restores 72 PTI MNAs
Justice Shahid Karim directs lawmakers to appear before NA speaker to withdraw resignationsRana Yasif
May 19, 2023
LAHORE: In a significant development, Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has suspended the de-notification of the Election Commissioner of Pakistan (ECP), thereby restoring the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) 72 Members of the National Assembly (MNAs).
The court has directed the MNAs to appear before the Speaker of the National Assembly, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, to formally withdraw their resignations.
The decision comes as a result of multiple petitions filed by the 72 MNAs, urging the court to nullify the notifications issued by Speaker Pervaiz Ashraf, who accepted their resignations, and the ECP's notification, which de-notified them and declared their seats vacant.
After hearing extensive arguments, Justice Shahid Karim reserved the decision and subsequently announced the suspension of the de-notification. Justice Karim has instructed the speaker to reconsider the matter after hearing the petitioners once again, taking into account their arguments and concerns.
During the court proceedings, Barrister Ali Zafar, the counsel for the petitioners, argued that the resignations had been retracted before their acceptance. He questioned how the speaker could accept the resignations under such circumstances, emphasising that accepting resignations without adhering to the legal framework would undermine the rules and suggest malicious intent on the part of the speaker.
The petitioner's counsel further highlighted that the speaker failed to individually summon the MNAs to ascertain their voluntary decision to tender resignations. According to the counsel, the speaker had initially promised to call each MNA individually to determine their stance. However, when the time came, he accepted the resignations without following through on this commitment.
Barrister Ali Zafar urged the court that the collective resignations of 123 MNAs, including the petitioners, were solely aimed at reaching an agreement with opposition parties to facilitate fresh elections. The objective was to establish a new government with the true mandate of the people of Pakistan and resolve the current impasse, he added.
The petitioner argued that the then acting speaker, former deputy speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri, initially accepted the resignations. However, the new speaker, Pervaiz Ashraf, after assuming office, reversed the decision and instructed the secretariat to resubmit the resignations for verification, in accordance with the judgments of superior courts.
The speaker subsequently decided to conduct an inquiry and verify each resignation by individually contacting and confirming the willingness of each MNA to resign. However, when the MNAs were called for verification, they did not appear, resulting in the non-acceptance of their resignations.
As a result, neither did the MNAs approach the speaker for verification nor did he call them again, leading to the continuation of the status quo. Consequently, the original resignations became irrelevant in the context of the petitioners' claims.
The petitioners further argued that the resignations were never officially notified or formally accepted by the National Assembly. Following the change of regime, the speaker declared that the verification process would start afresh. However, later on, the speaker, in violation of the law and his own ruling, accepted some resignations.
The petitioners maintain that the actions taken by the speaker and the ECP are illegal and against the law. They have requested the court to declare that the petitioners had withdrawn their resignations through their conduct, words, and written communication, in accordance with the law, prior to any acceptance of the resignations.
LHC suspends ECP’s de-notification, restores 72 PTI MNAs | The Express Tribune
Justice Shahid Karim directs lawmakers to appear before NA speaker to withdraw resignations
