Pakistan’s Court Rejects Petition Seeking Imran Khan’s Disqualification in Tyrian White Case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking the disqualification of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan in the Tyrian White case on Tuesday.
A three members larger bench of the Islamabad High Court, led by Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, dismissed the petition aiming to disqualify the PTI founder for concealing information regarding his alleged daughter Tyrian White in nomination papers submitted for the 2018 general elections.
Last year, Muhammad Sajid, a resident of Islamabad, had submitted a plea requesting Khan’s disqualification.
This case had been pending since May 2023, following the dissolution of a three-member bench by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq. The decision was made after a two judges bench’s verdict regarding the petition’s maintainability were uploaded on the court’s website.
The high court had clarified that without the signatures of Chief Justice Farooq, the opinions of two judges could not constitute the bench verdict and be uploaded to the court’s website.
During the hearing, Advocate Hamid Ali Shah, representing the petitioner, mentioned that Salman Akram Raja had filed an adjournment petition in the case. In response, Khan’s lawyer Naeem Haider Panjhuta argued that the matter had already been settled and the verdict had been uploaded on the website.
However, Advocate Shah pointed out that the verdict had been removed from the website, and a new bench was constituted through a press release.
Justice Jahangiri questioned Panjhuta’s involvement in the case, to which he responded that he was a proxy counsel. The judge then noted that opinions had been provided by Justices Kayani and Tahir.
Advocate Shah requested time to prepare, stating that he could only assist the court after reviewing the verdict. Justice Jahangiri remarked that the IHC CJ had recused himself, and the bench had issued a majority decision, thus dismissing the disqualification plea against Khan.
The petitioner, Mohammad Sajid, alleged that Khan had not disclosed his daughter Tyrian in his nomination papers submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the 2018 general elections.