The petitioner in the case submitted in the Supreme Court for declaring the February 8 general elections null and void has requested to withdraw the petition.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, started hearing the petition on Monday morning. Other members of the bench included Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali.

Brig (retd) Ali Khan had petitioned the apex court for declaring the election results null and void. Without appearing in court, he submitted an application to withdraw his petition. 

The chief justice ordered to find and produce the petitioner. “Do they file petitions just to become famous?” he questioned.

The court then ordered the additional attorney general to present the petitioner at all costs, asking who and where he was. “He did not even mention the name of the lawyer on the application,” the CJP remarked. 

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Justice Mazhar mentioned that there were objections to the petition.

“Petitions are filed all over the world, but they are not published in the media,” CJP Isa remarked. “The petitioner should be brought before the court in any case.”

The SHO of the police station concerned was ordered to comply with the notice. “There cannot be such jokes with the Supreme Court,” the CJP remarked, adding that the court will hear this case today. 

The hearing was adjourned till February 21 and the petitioner issued a notice through the Defence Ministry. The Supreme Court remarked that the petitioner has posed himself as a former brigadier of the Pakistan Army. 

In its order for the day, the court noted that it was told the applicant's number was found switched off after calling him twice. "Did he just file the application for publicity? The court won't allow this. The Supreme Court will not be misused," the order observed. 

The notice could not be complied with at the given address and phone number. The petition was filed directly in the Supreme Court on February 12 and even before it got to the court, it was aired in the media, the order noted, adding that it was fixed for hearing with objections. 

After extensive publicity, the applicant requested to withdraw the application, the court observed, adding that the petitioner should also be contacted through the SHO concerned. The case will be heard again on February 21, it ordered. 

Filed on February 16, the petition alleged that pre-poll rigging and delays in the announcement of election results posed a significant threat to democratic principles. The petitioner argued that in light of these concerns, the formation of a government following the February 8 elections should be halted.

Instead, petitioner Brig (retd) Ali Khan proposed that the Supreme Court order a fresh election under its supervision.