SC suspends LHC’s order for a recount in NA-131

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The Supreme Court suspended on Wednesday the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) order to recount votes in Lahore’s NA-131. A bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar gave this interim order on an appeal filed by PTI chief Imran Khan challenging the LHC ruling which allowed his rival’s plea for a recount of all ballots. The apex-court accepted Imran’s appeal for the hearing, the court has also suspended the order halting the issuance of a notification declaring Imran as the winner from NA-131. During the hearing, SC Justice Ijazul Ahsan answered to Saad Rafique lawyers that the election tribunal can be approached after the compilation of the result. Earlier, Justice Mamoonur Rashid of the LHC also directed the ECP to withhold the notification of Khan’s win from the constituency until the recount is completed. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Saad Rafique had petitioned for a recount in the closely contested NA-131 Lahore-9 constituency, from where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan had emerged victorious. He had alleged that the presiding officer deliberately rejected hundreds of votes.