Bitter words between Aftab Bajwa, Azam Nazir for mocking Maryam

Lahore: The Lahore High Court (LHC), while hearing the petitions against the success of Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shehbaz and others in general elections 2024, ordered to challenge the cases in the relevant forum.

According to the details, a hearing was held in LHC on petitions filed against the success of the election of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior vice president Maryam Nawaz, league leader Khawaja Asif, Hamza Shehbaz and other candidates.

During the hearing, there was a bitter exchange between the petitioner Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supported independent candidate Shehzad Farooq's lawyer Aftab Bajwa and Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) lawyer Azam Nazir Tarar.

Aftab Bajwa said that they contested the election against ‘Queen’ Maryam Nawaz, therefore they are being targeted for revenge. On which Justice Ali Baqir Najafi scolded him that if he would use such words, he will not hear the case.

Azam Nazir Tarar, talking to the lawyer of the petitioner, said to speak politely, to which the lawyer replied: “Who are you to stop me from talking, I said ‘Queen’, not ‘Maid’. If you were not notified, why have you come here”.

The court expressed displeasure over the bitter words of the lawyers, saying that Azam Nazir is also a lawyer, you should show patience.

Justice Ali Baqir Najafi said: “I will never listen here against the representative of the council”. He directed Aftab Bajwa to give arguments on the application.

To which the lawyer Aftab Bajwa replied that a case was registered against them because of why they contested the election against Maryam Nawaz.

Advocate Aftab presented the details of the cases filed against Shahzad Farooq in the court while the court ordered to challenge the cases in the relevant forum.

While, the lawyer of the Election Commission, Azam Nazir Tarar, arguing in the court, said that their problem is that they do not follow the procedure. Everything is there in the law, in the case of Salman Akram Raja, 500 people came face to face in the RO office.

On which Salman Akram Raja's lawyer said, “Do not misrepresent this, it is nothing like that”.

Azam Nazir stated that after the election there is a chaotic situation in the RO office, that is why some laws were changed by amending the election rules. ‘We need to give some respect to the Election Commission; these petitions cannot be heard now’.

ECP counsel further said that commission members are elected by parliament, the application that comes first will be heard first, all are claiming that they have Form-45. Except two to three application, Form-45 has not been attached to any. It is also possible that candidates who won the elections have different figures in Form-45 and losing candidates would have different figures in Form-45.

He added that in the past it also happened that the losing candidates used to change the numbers of Form-45, the answers to all these questions can be found in the Election Commission.

During the hearing, Justice Ali Baqar Najafi of LHC said that the first forum for filing the application is the Election Commission.

Justice Ali Baqar inquired whether this petition is admissible as the election process has just been completed. Is the petitioner not bound to file the petition with the RO first, the first forum for filing the petition is the Election Commission?

The Election Commission's lawyer told the court that the High Court is not a jurisdiction to file direct petitions.

PTI-backed candidate Rehana Dar's lawyer said that they took the application to the Returning Officer, after the election process was completed they approached the relevant forum.

The LHC adjourned the proceedings on the petitions against the election results till 12:00pm, saying that the ECP should tell by 12 how many complaints have they received.

It is pertinent to note that the petitioners had challenged the initiative to issue Form-47 in the general elections.