SC throws out plea seeking annulment of general elections
Pakistan
Imposes fine of Rs0.5mn on Ali Khan for not pursuing the case
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Supreme Court on Wednesday disposed of the plea filed by retired brigadier Ali Khan to declare general elections 2024 as null and void.
A 3-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa conducted the hearing. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali are also part of the bench.
Citizen Brigadier Retired Ali Khan, through his petition, had demanded an investigation into rigging allegations and re-election.
The Supreme Court had issued a notice to Ali Khan through Ministry of Defence on February 19, but the petitioner, a former brigadier, did not appear in the court.
The Additional Attorney General informed the court that police had visited Ali Khan's house. A notice was also sent through the Ministry of Defence to him. He was not found at home and the notice had been pasted on his gate.
The chief justice inquired who was Ali Khan? On which the additional attorney general said he was a former brigadier who was court martialed in 2012. PTI leader Shaukat Basra came to the rostrum, but the court did not allow Shaukat Basra to speak.
The Chief Justice asked Basra to sit down and let the court listen to the lawyers. On this, Basra said he was also a lawyer of the high court.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan said that the Supreme Court had received the petitioner's e-mail. The petitioner had written in his e-mail that he could not appear in the court due to being abroad.
He expressed his intention to withdraw the application in the e-mail. Ali Khan had attached with his e-mail copies of the boarding pass, ticket and all the travel documents for going to Bahrain.
According to the documents, the applicant had taken a connecting flight from Doha to Bahrain. The Chief Justice said Ali Khan was a strange person who bought one way ticket instead of a return ticket which was cheaper.
The CJP further said it seemed that Khan had played a publicity stunt by filing an application in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition to declare the February 8 elections null and void and imposed a fine of Rs 0.5 million on the petitioner for non-appearance.
