PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has given a final opportunity to the counsel for Chitral MNA Abdul Latif to appear in a petition challenging his disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
A three-member larger bench, headed by Justice Ijaz Anwar, warned that the interim stay order would be withdrawn if the lawyer failed to appear at the next hearing. The court adjourned proceedings until October 19.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s junior counsel said the senior lawyer was attending proceedings at the Islamabad High Court and requested an adjournment.
Justice Ijaz Anwar observed that the larger bench had been constituted specifically to hear the case and criticised the counsel’s absence, noting that the arrangement had also affected the hearing of other cases.
ECP Additional Director Law Khurram Shehzad told the court that Abdul Latif had challenged the commission’s decision to disqualify him following his conviction by an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad.
He said the National Assembly seat from Chitral had remained vacant for about a year and that byelections had not been held because of the high court’s stay order. He requested the court to lift the order so that elections could proceed.
The bench observed that the case involved legal questions requiring the petitioner’s counsel to be heard before a decision could be made. As the lawyer was absent, the court said it could not decide the matter without hearing his arguments.
The News