1 BEFORE THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COUNCIL, ISLAMABAD Reference No. /2022 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Through its Central Vice President, Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhary S/o Mukhtar Ahmed R/o E-205 Parliament Lodges, Islamabad. Petitioner Versus Mr. Sikandar Sultan Raja, Chief Election Commissioner Election Commission of Pakistan, ECP Secretariat, Election House, Constitutional Avenue, Sector G-5/2, Islamabad REFERENCE UNDER ARTICLE 2152) READ WITH ARTICLE 209 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF PAKISTAN, 1973 AND UNDER THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COUNCIL PROCEDURE OF ENQUIRY RULES. 2005 AND OTHER ENABLING PROVISIONS OF LAW Respectfully Sheweth; Facts giving rise to this Reference Application are that:~ 1. The Petitioner is the largest National Political Party of Pakistan i.e. Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) and the instant Reference Application is being filed through its Central Vice President./ 2. That in the 2018 General Elections, Petitioner political party received 16.9 million Votes, the largest number for any political party in Pakistan thus far. It then formed the national government for the first time, with its Chairman Mr, Imran Khan, assuming the office of 22" Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. 3, That Respondent was appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner in terms of Article 213 of the Constitution on 24.01.2020 and was sworn into office upon taking oath under Article 214 read with Schedule TIT of the Constitution ibid, on 27.01.2020 by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan. 4, That upon assuming the constitutional high office as the Chief Election Commissioner, Respondent was and is under bounden duty and obligation to ‘act and to discharge his duties, and perform his functions, honestly, to the best of his ability, faithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, and without allowing his personal interest to influence his official conduct or his official decisions. 5. That the Incumbent/Chief Election Commissioner by virtue of Article 213 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan “hereinafter referred to as Constitution” is entrusted with duties as enshrined in Article 219 of the Constitution inter alia to hold free and fair Elections and perform all other functions as enumerated in various provisions of the Constitution and the law in relation to general elections, bye-elections and other related affairs for the Parliament, provincial assemblies and local governments.. That the Constitution is not only a commitment of the national through its chosen representatives to work within a fundamental framework but it is also the duty and obligation of citizens as well as institutions to follow the mandate of this Constitution. Under Constitution it is imperative to put the nation on the right path and it is bounden duty of all including the ECP to follow the footprints of Founder of Pakistan and prominent characteristics of Objective Resolution for strengthening the country and to check any colorable exercise of power in cach and every sphere of activity of the Government officials as well as the Constitutional Institutions. . That the PTI after emerging as the largest political party of Pakistan was satisfactorily managing the affairs of this federation and most of the federating units under the able leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan until the “Operation Regime Change” took place through which an imported government/regime was installed against the will and wishes of the people of Pakistan, Resultantly, the PTI lead Government was toppled through passage of a manipulated, conspired, engineered and tailored “motion for vote of no confidence”. . That the conspiracy of “Operation Regime Change” was unearthed through a iplomatic cable /Cipher of 7" March 2022, which was duly discussed by the country top-most security watchdog i.e, National Security Committee (hereinafter referred to as “NSC”). Subsequently, after the declassification of the diplomatic cable/Cipher the same was shared with the President of Pakistan and the Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan. The Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan was also requested to order a detailed probe into the matter and conduct a Judicial Inquiry.4 9 That during the proceedings relating to the vote of no Confidence through operation regime change against the then Prime Minister Iman Khan, it was decided by the Parliamentary Party in National Assembly on 11-04-2022 to tender their resignations en-bloe from the National Assembly, Subsequently all 123 members of PTI tendered their resignations en masse as a Protest, in order to protect the mandate of the citizens of Pakistan, to the Deputy Speaker namely Mr. Qasim Suri, which were purportedly accepted by him under Article 64 (1) of the Constitution. The resignations were dilly Published in the official gazette on 13-04-2022 and sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan, The said notification was issued by the Secretary National Assembly however, the same were not notified by the Election Commission of Pakistan with ulterior motives nor their notifications as retumed candidates were withdrawn, 10.That in order to bring to a halt in the process of acceptance of resignation and in their quest to unduly prolong their illegal stay in the power and to avert early yet rightful general clections in the country, the imported government through Mr. Raja Po National Assembl siz. Ashraf, the current Speaker of the 5 had decided to yet again re-initiate the Process of verification of resignation in the carb of confirmation as to whether the resignations were tendered voluntarily or otherwise. 11.That even though none of the PTI MNAs, who had tendered their resignations, personally appeared before the incumbent Speaker National Assembly Mr Raja Pervaiz, Ashraf, however, most astonishingly, the Speaker without undergoing the process so laid down in the constitution and the dicta so held by Superior Judiciary, purportedly chose to single out a few PTI MNAs and thus wrongfully communicated confirmation of 11 ! 28.07.2022 whereafter the Respondent Chief Election Commission in connivance with the imported/imposed Government took no time to issue a Notification dated 29.07.2022 whereby resignations vide Notification dat the resignations of only 11 MNAs of PTI were accepted. It is pertinent to mention that the issuance of the Novifications is contrary to Article 64(1) of the Constitution read with Rule 43 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007,5 12.That the Respondent being the head of the apex constitutional body mandated to look after the elections to both the houses of the Parliament was under obligation to oversee whether all the constitutional requirements were duly met before notifying vacancy of National Seats. It was his constitutional mandate and obligation to have seen that whether the Speaker had acted within his powers and in accordance with rules before accepting, any such resignation but instead of living up to the expected faimess and impartiality, the Respondent, who is otherwise known to have malice against the Petitioner Political Party and its Chairman, acted with undue haste and hand in gloves with the imported regime. Fe instead of objectively assessing, the process of so-called verification, went conveniently slong with the government in selective culling of PT MNAS. LacThat the conduct of the Respondent Chief Election Commissioner in accepting the resignations ina piecemeal manner is clearly in nil will against \dicative of fact that he is favoring a certain political party and clearly has a the Largest Political Party of Pakistan i.e Pakistan Tehreek —e-lnseaf. Needless to mention that in pleasing his masters the Respondent Chief Election Commissioner has clearly lost sight of the oath he took under [Article 214 wherein he solemnly swore that he will perform his duties and functions honestly, without fear or favour, affection or ill will and will not allow his personal interest to influence his official decisions. For references purpose the Oath is reproduced as follows. ‘Chief Election Commissioner [or a Member of the Election Commission of Pakistan] [Article 214] (in the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.) 4 do solemnly swear that as Chief Election Commissioner, or, as the case may be, member of the Election Commission of Pakistan]! will discharge my duties, and perform my functions, honestly, to the best of my ability, foithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law, and/ , without fear or favor, affection or ill will, and that I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions. 14,That collusion and connivance ‘of the Respondent Chief Election Commissioner, ECP is even more evident when the case of prohibited/foreign funding is taken into consideration. It is pertinent to note during the proceedings of prohibited funding matter while it was pending before the ECP, the Petitioner Political had requested the Respondent Chief Elections Commissioner in writing to take up and sertinize the accounts of all the 17 political parties together but most dismayingly the Respondent scriminatingly st PTI and has left the other political parties related matters pending. This clearly rt of the Chief Chief Election Commissioner chose otherwise and while dis singling out the Petitioner, gave verdict only in the case again: establishes the mala fide, biasness and collusion on pat Election Commissioner. 15.That the illicit relationship of incumbent Chief Election Commissioner with posed government is_also clear from his actions and order the importe when he earlier refused to postpone the second phase of Ioeal government sections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite the fact that were genuine concems ofl the stakeholders in respect ofthe holding the elections owing to prevailing weather conditions, however, when it eame to the same request being tendered by the importedimposed government in Sindh and Punjab, the incumbent Chief Election Commissioner was more than willing to accommodate their request and ordered to postponed the local government elections in the Province of Sindh. 16-That moreover in order to save the skin of the imported/imposed government the Respondent Chief Election Commissioner was also pleased to postpone the by-elections in the National Assembly citing flimsy grounds of law and order situation. 17:That the senior leadership of PTI has on a number of occasions expressed their reservations on the conduct of the Respondent Chief ElectionCommissioner as being biased and dictated by the imported/imposed goverment as the Respondent Chief Election Commissioner has quite clearly embarked on a witch hunt against the largest political party of Pakistan i.e Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf 18.That these fears of the PTI and its leadership were proven correct when certain audio clips from the Prime Minister’s Office were leaked on social media whereby the Prime Minister Mr. Shahbaz Sharif, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Mr. Ayaz Sadiq, Federal Minister for Interior Mr. Rana Sanaullah, Federal Minister of Defencen Mr. Khwaja Asif and Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Mr. Ahsan Iqbal are exchanging notes in presence of Minister for Law on engineering and tailoring the mode and manner of acceptance of resignations of the PTI members and are can clearly be heard that the same be placed before “Mian sahab” and to obtain the approval from “London”. Transcript of the audio leaks is attached as (Annexure A). 19, That this audio leak clearly proves that the PTI members who tendered their resignation to Mr. Qasim Suri earlier did not appear at all before the Speaker of the National Assembly Mr. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and instead of any procedure for so-called independent verification, the matter was actually left to the whims and wishes of a proclaimed offender, who had hoodwinked the judicial process and staged his flight to UK in guise of health issues. The whole process of so-called verification is thus clearly a farce and instead it was the characters who can be heard on audio tape in conspiring to deal with these resignations. The Respondent was under obligation to have doubly checked that all the requisite steps are correctly undertaken before notifying the vacancies and ensuing bye-elections on these so-called illegally vacated National Assembly seats. Hence, all actions taken by the Respondent as well as the Speaker National Assembly are in clear violation of the Constitution and the Conduct and Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly. These unfortunate yet shocking audio leaks further prove that the Respondent Chief Election Commissioner had not only wrongly issued the Notificationsof their acceptance of resignation and consequent bye-election but the same are quite evidently done at the behest and upon directions from “London”. 20.That on 27-09-2022, in yet another unfortunate and equally staggering twist of events, the authenticity and genuineness of these leaks have been accepted by the co-called Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Muhammad Sahabaz Sharif while acknowledging that he had talked to Dr. Tougeer Shah his SPM and is worried that how anything said in the PM Office got leaked on dark web. In this regard he is stated to have been in the process of forming a high powered committee to probe further into the matter. 21-That the audio leaks clearly establish that the Speaker National Assembly and in his turn the Respondent without adhering to the clear provisions of Article 64, the National Assembly Rules of Procedure Conduct of Business 2007 and the dicta so laid down by the Superior Judiciary have failed to ascertain the geniuses of the Resignations. It was the primary duty of the incumbent Speaker National Assembly to ascertain personally whether the resignations so tendered were signed by the person resigning, whether it was voluntary and whether it was intended to act as resignation. The August Supreme Court of Pakistan in case titled Abdul Razique Khan versus The Province of Sindh ete ( PLD 1994 SC 79 ) has categorically held that unless these said three requirements of resignation were satisfied it was dangerous in the political milieu in which people of Pakistan were living to give effect to such resignations. It was in light of this legal background that the Respondent CEC was also obligated to confirm whether the Speaker had in effect taken into account the legal requirements before accepting such resignations. The Respondent instead of acting impartially, fairly and in accordance of the manadate of his oath, chose to become a crony of the installed imported regime, 22. That the Respondent Chief Election Commissioner upon dictation of Mian ‘Saab from London has accepted the resignation of the 11 MNAs of PTT in a piecemeal manner which is grave violation of Article 213, 64, 214 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Indeed the Chief Election Commissioner as per article 213, 214, 218 was under a direct constitutional obligation to exercise all powers vested in him in a bona fide manner.Z - 23.That as per Article 4 of the Constitution, it is an inalienable right of every citizen to be dealt with in accordance with law, Similarly Article 10A of the Constitution enshrines that every Person is entitled to a fair trial and due Process of law, however, the grudges of the Respondent Chief Election Commissioner against PTI in general and Mr. Imran Khan in particular is threatening to take away these basic rights as guaranteed under the Constitution. Needless to mention the baseless and false Tosha Khana reference which has been filed by the Speaker National Assembly before the Chief Election Commissioner is nothing more than a continuation of the same events and clearly establishes the nexus with the characters and culprits of the audio leaks. 24.That Article 5 of the Constitution enshrines that loyalty to state and obedience to Constitution is the basic duty of every citizen. However, the incumbent Election Commissioner in performance of his constitutional role has not only exposed himself as being biased, dishonest and unfaithful to Constitutional post that he his holding but has very much violated the oath that he has taken under Article 214 of the Constitution and has also intentionally violated Article 5 of the Constitution. 25.That without prejudice to the above and in addition thereto the incumbent Chief Election Commissioner has clearly violated his oath and has continuously violated the ECP’s code of conduct and has failed to fulfill his constitutional obligations. 26.That the clear discriminatory attitude of the incumbent Chief Election Commissioner has also made his integrity clearly questionable. 27.That the incumbent Chief Election Commissioner is not fit to hold the constitutional post under Article 213 and has failed to discharge his constitutional duties under Article 214 and 218, It is therefore most humbly requested that the reference may kindly be accepted and the Respondent Chief Election Commissioner may kindly be removed from10 cone of the most respectable and sacred constitutional post. Any other relief, not specifically asked, may also graciously be granted, As an interim measure, during the pendency of this Reference Petition, the Respondent may be restrained from performing his functions and duties. PETITIONER Through Barrister Abdullah Babar Awan Advocate High Court