IHC stays ECP order amendment court

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court on Monday stayed the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) June 10 order changing the federal capital’s election tribunal.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq was hearing petitions filed by PTI candidates Shoaib Shaheen and Ali Bukhari challenging the ongoing proceedings related to the Election Amendment Ordinance and also the plea filed by advocate Ali Bukhari against the ECP’s order amending the Election Tribunal.

The Additional Attorney General (AAG) asked for time to prepare his response in defence of the ordinance.

The CJ of the IHC asked him how he would defend this order and also enquired about the urgency under which it was passed overnight.

“(Why don’t you) abolish Parliament and run the government by decree?” the judge added sarcastically.

“You have set up an arms factory, one is the Wah factory and the other is an arms factory. The Wah factory makes arms and you make arms. What bias against the judge did the Election Commission find?”

The court rejected PML-N MP Anjum Aqeel Khan’s statement of using abusive words and allegations against the judge in his petition seeking a change of court and issued him a contempt notice.

Addressing the PML-N MNA, the IHC CJ asked whether he wanted a change of the judge of the tribunal because the judge had ignored his inappropriate recommendations.

The PML-N MP apologized to the court and replied that he had signed the application without reading it.

“I admit that my English is not good… this is written in legal language. This is my mistake, I signed without reading these words. I have submitted a request for the transfer of the case,” he added.

Judge Farooq informed Anjum that his application was about the bias of the judge.

“You are a parliamentarian, you have to make laws, why did you indict the judge?” asked the Chief Justice of the IHC.

Anjum responded that his choice of words was an “unintentional” error. He also denied making unjustified recommendations.

Following these observations, the IHC stayed the ECP’s order amending the Islamabad Election Tribunal.

The court issued a contempt notice to Anjum and adjourned the hearing to July 9.

The IHC also ordered that the PML-N MNA must be present at every hearing of the case.

In the last hearing, the Chief Justice of the IHC also expressed his displeasure over the change in the Election Tribunal in Islamabad.

“Why was the tribunal amended? The government should explain to me why this amendment, which was abolished years ago, has now been introduced by an ordinance,” the judge observed.

“How can the sitting president issue an executive order? What was the emergency that issued the executive order overnight? Let the system remain a system.”

Judge Farooq noted that the tribunal in Islamabad was constituted after consultation with him.