ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Supreme Court on Saturday rejected the petition filed by the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), seeking to suspend the verdict in the Toshakhana case, citing certain objections.
The apex court’s Registrar Office returned the PTI founder’s plea, objecting that the documents submitted with the appeal were incomplete. However, it stated that the appeal could be resubmitted along with all relevant documents by Jan 6 next year.
The PTI founder had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the high court's decision. He had requested the apex court to nullify the decision handed down by the high court on his plea, which sought legal orders for participation in the upcoming general elections.
In the petition, the PTI founder had argued that the Islamabad High Court had already suspended his sentence in the Toshakhana case. He had contended that the high court had only suspended the sentence, not the entire verdict.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) took advantage of this mistake in the high court’s decision and notified the disqualification of the PTI founder as a parliamentarian.
In the petition, the PTI founder had argued that the general elections were approaching, and as a former prime minister, and the founder of the country’s biggest political group, he could not be kept out of the elections.
He had requested the apex court to annul the high court’s decision about the sentence in the Toshakhana case, so that he could participate in the elections.
It is noteworthy that the Islamabad High Court had previously rejected the request of the PTI founder.