F.P. Report
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has turned down Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s appeal against the rejection of nomination papers for the February 8 general elections.
The high court upheld the decisions of the returning officer (RO) and appellate tribunal given against acceptance of the disqualified former premier’s nomination papers from NA-122 and NA-89 constituencies. A three-member bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi heard the plea on Wednesday.
In his plea, Khan stated that his nomination papers were rejected by the RO and appellate tribunal in contrast with the facts, therefore, he should be granted permission to contest forthcoming polls. After hearing arguments from both sides, the LHC bench rejected the politico’s appeal and upheld the previous decisions.
The ousted prime minister had filed his nomination papers from Lahore’s NA-122 and Mianwali’s NA-89 constituencies. Moreover, the high court also heard a series of petitions filed by other PTI bigwigs to challenge the rejection of their nominations. The larger bench also dismissed the appeals filed by PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, PTI Secretary General Hammad Azhar, PTI leader Latif Khosa’s son Khurram Latif Khosa and PTI activist Sanam Javaid. The development comes as a major blow to the party whose leadership is facing a plethora of cases — especially pertaining to the May 9 riots — with senior leaders, including Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others, behind bars.
Court drops charges against PTI founder and wife: The Islamabad court has dismissed the case alleging an illicit relationship against the founder of PTI, Imran Khan, and his wife Bushra Bibi. The District and Sessions Court in Islamabad presided over the hearing on the marriage case between Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, ultimately rejecting the accusations of improper relations.
The court cited legal requirements, specifically Section 496B, which mandates two witnesses. Noting the absence of the second witness, the court decided to drop the charge under Section 496B. Consequently, the charges against PTI founder Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi now solely pertain to Section 496. The charges revolve around the marriage between the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi during Eid. The court has scheduled the appearance of prosecution witnesses for January 18.
The case originated from allegations made by Latif, an employee of Khawar Manika, Bushra Bibi’s ex-husband. Latif accused Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi of incidents dating back six years. The hearing for the Nikah case is set to take place on January 18.
