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KARACHI: On Wednesday, a plea was filed in the Sindh High Court (SHC) seeking the suspension of a by-election in Karachi’s NA-239 constituency.
Former PTI MNA Akram Cheema filed the petition.
According to the petitioner, the PHC and LHC have already suspended by-elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab.
At this point, the SHC judge requested that both courts submit written order copies.
Cheema’s lawyer responded by telling the court that they had a copy of the written decision of the LHC but the PHC judgment is currently unavailable.
The court then ordered the submission of a written judgment of the PHC verdict regarding the suspension of by-elections and deferred the remaining hearings until Monday.
By-elections on NA seats are barred by LHC.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court (LHC) today ordered the suspension of by-elections in two National Assembly constituencies: NA-108 Faisalabad and NA-118 Nankana Sahib.
The judgment was announced by LHC judge Justice Shahid Karim on petitions submitted by PTI leaders Farrukh Habib and Ijaz Shah.
The petitioners contended that by-elections in both constituencies were set on May 28, but that under the law, they could not be held when the National Assembly was less than 90 days away from completion.
During today’s hearing, Advocate Azhar Siddique told the court that the by-election could not be held 120 days before the National Assembly’s term expired.
“Because the PHC postponed elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they should be postponed in Punjab as well,” he said to the court.
At this point, the ECP lawyer stated that the election in KP was halted by making false representations in the Peshawar High Court and that all election preparations had been finished, and that the court should dismiss the case.
