Supreme Court Dismisses Three Petitions on Alleged Election Rigging, Postpones Hearings for Imran Khan and Others

Islamabad: The Supreme Court’s constitutional bench, under the leadership of Justice Aminuddin, dismissed three petitions regarding alleged rigging in the 2024 general elections due to lack of follow-up by the petitioners. The petitions, filed by Qayum Khan, Mahmood Akhtar, and Mian Shabbir, were dismissed as the petitioners did not appear in court. These petitions had raised concerns about electoral fraud during the 2024 general elections.
Meanwhile, a separate petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, alleging rigging in the same elections, was adjourned until after the winter break. Khan’s lawyer, Hamid Khan, requested the delay, stating that he had not received the notice in time to prepare for the case. Justice Jamal Mandokhel advised Hamid Khan to stay in contact with the Advocate on Record (AOR), following which the court decided to adjourn the case.
Additionally, PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat’s petition challenging election fraud was also postponed due to procedural issues raised by the Supreme Court’s Registrar Office. Marwat’s lawyer informed the court that the objections had not been communicated to them, preventing them from responding in time. The court ordered the Registrar Office to provide the objections and adjourned the hearing until January.
Background: In March 2024, Imran Khan had filed a petition with the Supreme Court, seeking the formation of a judicial commission to investigate alleged rigging in the February 8 general elections. His petition called for the establishment of a neutral commission composed of sitting judges to conduct an impartial investigation into the elections and their results. Khan also requested that all government formation actions in federal and provincial assemblies be suspended until the report of the judicial commission was made public.
The 2024 general elections were held on February 8, but PTI, due to being deprived of its electoral symbol “bat,” could not participate directly. Instead, PTI-backed candidates contested as independents. In the election, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 75 out of the 265 general seats in the National Assembly, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) secured 54 seats.