ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan will hear an appeal against the de-seating of 25 PTI members of provincial assembly (MPAs) on November 9, 2022.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, will hear the appeal. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Ayesha Malik are also part of the bench.
These PTI members left their political party and cast their ballots for PLM-N Vice President Hamza Shehbaz Sharif on April 16 during the Punjab Chief Minister election. On May 23, the Pakistani Election Commission (ECP) de-notified these defectors.
These included five elected MPAs on seats reserved for women and minorities after a reference filed by PTI chairman Imran Khan seeking the removal of defectors from the assembly.
Three members of the ECP’s bench, including Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, Nisar Ahmed Durrani, and Shah Mohammad Jatoi, heard the case.
Later, the former MPAs and deserters petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the ECP decision.
Hamza received 197 votes overall thanks to the support of the rebel lawmakers, far more than the 186 needed for a simple majority. The dissident MPAs were eventually removed from their seats in the house, therefore it did not work out well for the PML-N leader.
The de-seated lawmakers are Raja Sagheer Ahmed, Malik Ghulam Rasool Sangha, Saeed Akbar Khan, Mohammad Ajmal, Abdul Aleem Khan, Nazir Ahmed Chohan, Mohammad Amin Zulqernain, Malik Nauman Langrial, Mohammad Salman, Zawar Hussain Warraich, Nazir Ahmed Khan, Fida Hussain, Zahra Batool, Mohammad Tahir, Aisha Nawaz, Sajida Yousaf, Haroon Imran Gill, Uzma Kardar, Malik Asad Ali, Ijaz Masih, Mohammad Sabtain Raza, Mohsin Atta Khan Khosa, Mian Khalid Mehmood, Mehar Mohammad Aslam and Faisal Hayat.
