Lahore — A second judge of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has recused himself from hearing petitions filed by Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza and former PTI MPA Junaid Afzal Sahi, further delaying proceedings in the politically sensitive cases tied to the May 9 incidents.
On Monday, Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal declined to take up the two pleas, citing personal reasons. He referred both petitions to the LHC chief justice with a request that they be fixed before another appropriate bench. His decision comes just days after Justice Khalid Ishaq similarly recused himself from hearing the same matters.
The petition filed by SIC chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza challenges the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) schedule for a by-election in NA-104, the constituency from which he was elected in the 2024 general elections. Raza was disqualified after his conviction in a May 9-related case, and is currently serving a 10-year prison term handed down by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad.
The judge refused to hear the pleas, citing personal reasons and sent them to the chief justice with a request to fix them before any other appropriate bench.https://t.co/Dauf4JBTHE
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) November 18, 2025
His counsel, Bassam Ahmad Siddiqui, argued that the ECP acted unlawfully by directly notifying his client’s disqualification without receiving a reference from the National Assembly speaker — a step he said was mandatory under the law. The petition seeks to have the by-election schedule declared null and void.
Raza was arrested by Islamabad police last week and later shifted to jail to begin his sentence, which was awarded to him along with several PTI leaders on July 31 for their alleged involvement in the May 9 attacks.
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In a separate plea, former Punjab Assembly member Junaid Afzal Sahi is challenging his own disqualification following his conviction in a May 9 case by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad. Sahi’s petition contends that the ECP lacks the authority to disqualify a parliamentarian without first providing an opportunity for a hearing.
With two judges having stepped aside, the petitions are expected to be reassigned soon. The delays, however, add yet another procedural hurdle for the petitioners, whose cases continue to unfold amid heightened political and legal scrutiny tied to the fallout from last year’s unrest.
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