Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) federal ministers Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz have withdrawn their appeals against disqualification from the general elections and removal from their posts as opposition leader in the Senate, respectively, it was learned on Monday.
According to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan’s statement in the Supreme Court, Ayub withdrew his appeal against his disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as he has no plans to contest the upcoming polls. His wife will instead campaign for this seat.
The appeal against his removal as opposition leader in the National Assembly has also been withdrawn and the new opposition leader has already been informed, Khan said.
As for Faraz, Khan informed the court that his appeal against his removal as leader of the opposition in the upper house had been withdrawn.
Read: Top court to hear appeals of PTI’s Omar, Shibli
However, Faraz’s appeal against his disqualification by the ECP stands, Khan said, requesting the court to issue an opinion on the matter.
During the hearing, Justice Aminuddin Khan asked whether the two PTI leaders had surrendered.
Khan responded in the negative, adding that the matter was civil in nature and the party only intended to pursue Faraz’s case.
Justice Shakeel Ahmad asked about the date of the Senate by-election.
To which Gohar replied that the by-election is scheduled for October 30.
The bench observed that very little time had been given for the supplementary polls and fixed the next hearing for October 29, informing the ECP.
A Special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Faisalabad sentenced senior PTI leaders Ayub, Faraz, Zartaj Gul and Hamid Raza to 10 years in prison each on July 31 for inciting violence on May 9, 2023, when protests erupted following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises.
On August 5, the ECP disqualified nine PTI-affiliated lawmakers, including Senate Opposition Leader Faraz and National Assembly Opposition Leader Ayub.
On August 25, the Faisalabad ATC sentenced the two PTI leaders and dozens of others to 10 years in prison each in another case involving an attack on the residence of PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah during the May 9, 2023 riots.
The PTI leaders had first approached the Peshawar High Court, which dismissed their appeals as inadmissible on the grounds that they had not surrendered before the court. Ayub and Faraz later challenged their disqualification in the Supreme Court.
