Imran Khan barred from elections as LHC rejects his appeal

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday dismissed the petitions of former prime minister Imran Khan, who challenged the rejection of his nomination papers by the returning officer (RO) and the Appellate Tribunal for the upcoming general election.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Ali Baqer Najafi upheld the decisions of the RO and the Appellate Tribunal, which had disqualified Khan from contesting the polls.

Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had argued that his nomination papers were rejected contrary to the facts and requested the court to overturn the verdicts of the RO and the Appellate Tribunal and allow him to run for the elections.

He had filed his nomination papers from two constituencies: NA-122 Lahore and NA-89 Mianwali.

The LHC verdict is a major blow to Khan, who has been seeking to return to power since he was ousted by a no-confidence vote in April 2023.