SC orders Qasim Suri to reply in stay order case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday directed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former deputy speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri to submit his written response in a stay order case.

The challenge to Qasim Suri’s victory in the 2018 general election was raised by Lashkari Raisani of the Balochistan National Party (BNP).

In the 2019 election tribunal’s decision on September 27, Qasim Suri’s election from the National Assembly seat, NA-265, was declared null and void. However, he appealed to the Supreme Court and served his term on a stay order until the conclusion of the PTI government.

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A three-member bench, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa, took up the plea against Qasim Suri.

At the beginning of the hearing, the CJP inquired how Qasim Suri remained a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) on a stay order. The court pointed out that Suri’s counsel had enjoyed the entire term as an MNA on the stay order, and now it was being argued that the tenure of the National Assembly had concluded, deeming the case ‘ineffective.’

The court instructed Qasim Suri to submit his written response in the stay order case within three weeks. Additionally, the court issued a notice to the Registrar’s Office of the Supreme Court, requesting an inquiry report within the same timeframe to determine why the case of the former deputy speaker of the National Assembly was not scheduled for a hearing after the stay order.