- The Lahore High Court upholds the decisions of RO and the appellate court.
- Imran was scheduled to contest the elections from NA-122 and NA-89.
- A three-member court headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi issues an order.
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's appeal against the rejection of nomination papers for the February 8 general elections.
The high court upheld the decisions of the returning officer (RO) and the appellate court issued against the acceptance of the nomination papers of the disqualified former chief minister from constituencies NA-122 and NA-89.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi heard the plea on Wednesday.
In his plea, Khan claimed that his nomination papers were rejected by the RO and the appellate court, contrary to the facts, and therefore he should be granted permission to contest the upcoming elections.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the LHC court rejected the politician's appeal and confirmed the previous decisions.
The ousted prime minister had filed his nomination papers from Lahore's NA-122 and Mianwali's NA-89 constituencies.
Besides, the top court also heard a series of petitions filed by other PTI bigwigs challenging the rejection of their nominations.
The largest court also dismissed appeals filed by PTI vice-president Shah Mahmood Qureshi, PTI general secretary Hammad Azhar, PTI leader Latif Khosa's son Khurram Latif Khosa and PTI activist Sanam Javaid .
The development comes as a blow to the party, whose leaders are facing a plethora of cases, especially related to the May 9 riots, with senior leaders, including Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others, behind bars.
