SC registrar returns plea against Khusro, brother

ISLAMABAD: The Registrar Office of the Supreme Court on Thursday returned a petition filed against the order of the Election Commission of Pakistan rejecting a plea seeking disqualification of Federal Minister Khusro Bakhtiar and his brother Hashim Jawan Bakht for concealing their assets at the time of contesting the 2018 general elections.

The Registrar Office returned the petition with the objection that it is not maintainable. The petitioner however, filed a Chamber appeal in the apex court, praying to set aside the

order of the Registrar Office. Ahsen Abid, the petitioner, had challenged before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) the eligibility of both Khusro Bakhtiar and his brother Hashim Jawan Bakht for contesting the 2018 elections while making allegations that both the brothers had concealed their assets at the time of elections.

In January, a four-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) headed by Justice (retd) Altaf Ibrahim had dismissed the plea, holding that the commission had no jurisdiction to hear the instant matter. The bench had asked the petitioner to approach an appropriate forum to get the remedy.

Later, Ahsen Abid had challenged before the Supreme Court the order of the Election Commission of Pakistan. However, the Registrar Office of the apex court returned the petition for being non-maintainable.