Court cannot be subjected to such mockery, SC summons petitioner of plea seeking annulment of Feb 8 polls

Court cannot be subjected to such mockery, SC summons petitioner of plea seeking annulment of Feb 8 polls

Islamabad: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa ordered the authorities concerned to find the complainant and present him before the Supreme Court, observing that court cannot be subjected to such mockery.

The CJP’s remarks come as a three-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) led by the chief justice and comprising Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, conducted the hearing on Brig (retd) Ali Khan’s petition seeking re-elections over the issue of alleged rigging in the polls. But the petitioner did not appear before the court.

Subsequently, the apex court issued a notice to the petitioner, Brigadier (rtd) Ali Khan through the defence ministry and adjourned the hearing until Feb 21.

The SC noted that the petitioner had identified himself as a former brigadier and when contacted again, his phone number was found to be turned off.

The top judge further directed the additional attorney general to coordinate with the relevant Station House Officer (SHO) and present the complainant before the court.

Brig (retd) Ali Khan, in his petition, urged the court to order new elections within 30 days to be held under the direct supervision and oversight of the judiciary “to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability”.