Did Imran's Counsel Lie During IHC Hearing Of Tyrian White Case?

Islamabad High Court has allowed PTI chairman Imran Khan more time to submit his reply over a petition seeking his disqualification for not mentioning "daughter Tyrian Jade White" in his nomination papers.

The court asked the ex-premier to submit his response to the petition by Jan 27, in the high-profile case.

The IHC issued the decision after Salman Akram Raja, the PTI chief's counsel, said he would contest the petition's maintainability, saying his client was no more a member of the National Assembly as he had resigned from the legislature.

But on the same day, Election Commis­sion notified Imran Khan's victory from seven National Assembly constituencies in the by-polls held in Oct last year.

The notification had been withheld earlier after the PTI chief failed to submit details of by-poll expenses within the stipulated time.

This has raised questions about whether the former premier's counsel lied in an attempt to prove to the court that the petition was non-maintainable.

He also said that he was unable to submit his client's reply in time as it was mandatory for litigants to go through a biometric verification prior to the submission of documents.

At this, the court noted that biometric verification was very easy these days, given the numerous outlets.

On Dec 14, IHC fixed for hearing the petition seeking the disqualification of the ex-PM for 'concealing' his putative daughter in his nomination papers.

On Dec 9, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq issued a pre-admission notice to the PTI chief and the Election Commission on the petition of citizen Sajid Mehmood, asking the legal representatives to help the court decide if the petition was maintainable.

The petitioner seeks the disqualification, contending that all candidates contesting polls for any legislative office are required to furnish an affidavit in respect of their credentials and assets. He said that Imran had wrongly mentioned two children — “Qasim Khan and Sulaiman Khan” — and had omitted the third.

Article 62 of the Constitution states, "a person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) unless — he is sagacious, righteous, non-profligate, honest ,and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law".