Pak Supreme Court dismisses plea seeking annulment of Feb 8 general elections over allegations of rigging
irregularities in the February 8 polls, clearing the way for the formation of a coalition government to end the political uncertainty in the country. The apex court also imposed a fine on the petitioner, a former army officer, over his failure to appear before the court.
Retired Brigadier Ali Khan last week urged the apex court to order new elections within 30 days to be held under the direct supervision and oversight of the judiciary «to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability». He had also sought a stay order to stop the formation of a new government till the case was decided.
However, the petitioner failed to attend two consecutive hearings. Subsequently, a three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, and comprising of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali, disposed of the plea and imposed a fine of Pakistani Rs 500,000 on the petitioner after being informed that a notice had been served to him appear in the court.
Earlier, the court was informed that Ali was a former Brigadier who had been tried in a court martial in 2012 and dismissed from service. The chief justice read aloud an email sent to the top court by the petitioner, in which he had stated that he was abroad and had requested to withdraw his petition.
Calling it a «publicity stunt», CJP Isa observed that Brig (retd) Ali Khan had stated he could not appear before the court as he was in Bahrain.
«He is a strange person; people buy a
