PTI files plea to LHC against ECP inquiry into intra-party elections

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday, challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) inquiry into the party’s intra-party elections.

The petition was submitted by PTI Chairman Barrister Ghar Ali Khan through lawyer Azhar Bhandari. It also raised concerns about the non-return of goods seized during a raid on the PTI office.

In the petition, PTI accused the ECP of showing “bias” against the party, requesting the court to nullify its actions.

Earlier, on September 6, the ECP had rejected four miscellaneous applications from PTI related to the intra-party election case.

The ECP’s 10-page decision, authored by Sindh member Nisar Durrani, overruled PTI’s objections to the commission’s jurisdiction in the elections and denied the party’s request to delay proceedings.

A plea to postpone the matter until the reserved seats issue was resolved was also rejected.

The ECP advised PTI to seek legal recourse regarding the return of documents seized during the raid on its office.

The ECP had previously raised concerns about PTI’s organizational structure in May and, on December 22, 2023, stripped the party of its election symbol due to irregularities in its intra-party elections. This led to PTI fielding candidates as independents in the February 8 general elections. PTI held its intra-party elections again on March 3 following the general elections.