Lahore High Court issues notices against Imran Khan-led PTI's win in Pakistan general elections

The Lahore High Court on Saturday issued notices to 69 members of Pakistan's National Assembly (MNAs) in connection to a petition challenging Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) 's win in country's general elections, which took place on August 17.

The petition, which nominated the PPP and the JI as respondents, states that PTI's win in 2018 general elections was invalid as the 69 members from the national assembly did not cast their votes. It also asked the court to declare that every MNA must perform their constitutional duty of voting for the post of the head of the house and the chief executive of the state.

"Members of aforementioned parties abstained from voting and failed to perform their function of participating in the establishment of the federal government. The chosen representatives of the people cannot abstain themselves from casting their votes. It was their constitutional duty to exercise their right to vote," it read.

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Furthermore, the petitioner urged the court to declare Khan's victory in the general elections as unconstitutional owing to the large number of MNAs refraining from voting.

Khan's PTI in August 2018 beat Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League - (PML-N) and emerged as the single largest party to be elected as the 22nd prime minister of Pakistan.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), however, did not cast their votes, which is against the norms of establishing the federal government. Casting votes for a Prime Ministerial candidate is compulsory for every MNA under section 91 (4) of Pakistan's Constitution.