ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) notification regarding the victory of PML-N in Islamabad’s NA-46, NA-47, and NA-48 seats.
The two-member bench comprising Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir heard the intra-court appeal, dismissed the single-member IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq’s verdict, and suspended the victory notifications of NA-47, NA-47, and NA-48 constituencies.
During the proceedings, the judges raised concerns about the process of issuing these notifications within the ECP.
Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb remarked: “Ask the officer who issued this notification, who is sitting in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and doing this”.
The IHC suspended the victory notification of Raja Khurram Nawaz, who won a National Assembly seat from Islamabad.
The politician won the NA-48 constituency in the February 8 general elections, and his win was challenged in court by Ali Bukhari, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed independent candidate.
The court heard Amir Mehmood Mughal’s plea against the victory of PML-N Aqeel Anjum from NA-46 Islamabad-I constituency.
Mughal’s lawyer argued that his client was leading based on the results from 343 polling stations in the constituency. He highlighted discrepancies between Form-45 and Form-47 regarding the vote counts, emphasizing the need for clarification.
Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb questioned the authority responsible for issuing the notifications within the Election Commission of Pakistan, expressing doubts about the process.
In the NA-47 constituency, Tariq Fazl Chaudhry secured 102,502 votes, while PTI-backed Shohaib Shaheen received 87,396 votes in the February 8 elections.
Before the 2024 Elections, PML-N shifted Tariq Fazal Chaudhry’s candidacy from NA-48 to NA-47. This decision was confirmed by PML-N senior leader Ishaq Dar, who stated that Chaudhry would contest from NA-47 despite previously being allotted the ticket for NA-48. Meanwhile, Anjum Aqeel Khan was nominated by PML-N for NA-46.
