The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday reserved its verdict in the case concerning the removal of former Prime Minister and ex-PTI Chairman Imran Khan from his party chairmanship.
The five-member bench, led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, presided over the proceedings with PTI ex-chairman’s lawyer, Advocate Shoaib Shaheen, and Khalid Mehmood Advocate, the petitioner in the case, presenting their arguments.
Advocate Shaheen informed the bench that the PTI had submitted the record of intra-party elections to the ECP, asserting that this chapter should now be closed. He argued, “From a legal standpoint, there is no case right now since the PTI has a new chairman.”
Addressing the CEC, Advocate Shaheen suggested that if the bench intended to proceed with the case, it should wait for Akbar S. Babar to file the petition. In response, the CEC asked, “Do you want the petitioner in the case to also challenge the party chairmanship of Barrister Gohar Khan?”
During the hearing, the petitioner urged the bench to include in its verdict that, as Imran was a convict, he could not hold any position in the party. However, the chief election commissioner stated that the bench couldn’t comment on this matter since the PTI chairman had not contested the intra-party elections.
