The Lahore High Court (LHC) has granted permission to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Moonis Elahi to contest elections. According to details, Moonis Elahi, a former federal minister, has been given permission to participate in the by-elections. The Lahore High Court's appellate tribunal had earlier rejected the nomination papers of PTI leaders, but in its recent decision, the Election Appellate Tribunal accepted Moonis Elahi's nomination papers. It has been reported that former Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi and his son Moonis Elahi had filed an appeal against the returning officer's decision to reject their nomination papers for the 2024 by-elections. In their appeal, Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, the central president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and former federal minister Moonis Elahi maintained that the returning officer had rejected Moonis Elahi's nomination papers for PTI-158 constituency while accepting Pervez Elahi's papers for PTI-32 constituency. The appeal argued that the returning officer had rejected the nomination papers of both candidates contrary to the facts.

Moonis Elahi's nomination papers were rejected on the basis of allegations of concealing assets, and the returning officer rejected Moonis Elahi's nomination papers under the assumption of being a party to a court case. The court declared the decision of the returning officer null and void. Meanwhile, PTI leader Moonis Elahi stated, "For us, it's not about jail or NAB (National Accountability Bureau), but a separate plan has been made. If Imran Khan gets relief, then we will also get relief. If PTI Chairman Imran Khan comes out, then the possibilities of the return of leaders like me, Hamad Azhar, Murad Saeed, and others are there because at this time, we have not been tagged with jail or NAB but a separate plan has been made." Former federal minister also said that efforts are not being made for the release of Imran Khan. "We are also working with the core committee and lawyers for the release of the founding PTI," he added. "Lawyers' attention should only be on the cases of the former prime minister. Attention should not be on press conferences, talk shows, and constituency politics. When attention is given to Imran Khan's cases, results will come soon."

Credit: Independent News Pakistan