On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Pakistan decided not to accept a request to cancel the election and imposed a fine of Rs. five lacs on the person who made the request, as reported by Multan TV HD.
The person who made the request, retired Brigadier Ali Khan, didn’t show up for the court hearing led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa. Chief Justice Isa mentioned in the hearing that the court’s office received an email on Feb 19 from Ali Khan, explaining that he was out of the country. The chief justice read the email in court, stating that Ali Khan traveled to Doha and then Bahrain on a Qatar Airways ticket on Feb 13.
Chief Justice Isa found it unusual that Ali Khan filed the petition one day and left the country the next. He mentioned that the court confirmed the email belonged to Ali Khan. The email requested the withdrawal of the petition, stating that Ali Khan couldn’t appear in court. Ali Khan attached his boarding pass, ticket, and Bahrain travel papers to the email.
According to the travel documents, Ali Khan traveled to Bahrain through a connecting flight from Doha.
During the hearing, the Additional Attorney General informed the court that the police visited Ali Khan’s house, and a notice was sent to him through the Ministry of Defence. However, Ali Khan was not at home, and the notice was passed at the gate of his house.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa asked the government lawyer about Ali Khan’s identity, and the lawyer responded that he was a former brigadier who faced a court-martial in the year 2012.