PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has barred the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from taking any further action against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Zartaj Gul in a disqualification case.
The petition challenging Gul’s disqualification came up for hearing on Tuesday before a two-member bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad and Justice Ejaz Khan.
During proceedings, counsel for the petitioner informed the court that an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Faisalabad had handed Zartaj Gul a 10-year prison sentence in connection with the May 9 violence cases. Based on that conviction, the ECP on August 5 disqualified her along with several other PTI leaders.
Justice Waqar Ahmad questioned the counsel as to why the matter was not taken to the Lahore High Court (LHC). The lawyer responded that similar petitions concerning PTI leaders Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz—who were also disqualified in the same context—are already pending before the PHC, and therefore Zartaj Gul’s case should be heard here as well.
The bench observed that the petition would be taken up alongside the other pending cases, noting that the court would specifically examine the question of jurisdiction at the next hearing.
Issuing notices to the Election Commission and other respondents, the PHC restrained the authorities from proceeding against Zartaj Gul until further orders and adjourned the hearing.
The disqualification of several senior PTI leaders, including Zartaj Gul, Omar Ayub, and Shibli Faraz, came in the aftermath of the May 9, 2023 incidents, when widespread protests and violence erupted following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan.
Dozens of party leaders were booked under terrorism-related charges, and convictions handed down by special courts subsequently became grounds for the ECP to disqualify them from holding public office. The legal challenges by these leaders have now placed the disqualifications under judicial scrutiny, with questions being raised about jurisdiction and the broader implications for political participation.
