Pakistani courts flooded with petitions challenging Feb 8 election results
Islamabad (PTI): The courts in Pakistan have been flooded with petitions as candidates, mostly backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), challenged the results of Thursday's general elections, alleging rigging.
Most of the petitions were filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC), while two PTI-backed candidates moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the results, and at least three petitions were filed in the Sindh High Court (SHC).
The Election Commission is still to announce the full results of the polls.
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Independents backed by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the lion's share of 102 seats in the National Assembly (NA) in the election.
The group was followed by former prime minister Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 74 seats, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 54, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) with 17 and 12 other seats going to smaller parties, as the result of 259 seats out of 265 was announced by the election commission.
The result of NA-88 was withheld by the ECP due to complaints of fraud and it would be announced after redressing the grievances of the aggrieved. It showed that only five results were pending.
The petitions in the LHC challenged the victories of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz; Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) President Aleem Khan in different constituencies in Lahore.
A vast majority of those filing such challenges were PTI-backed independents, including high-profile politicians such as former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi and his wife Qaisera, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) finance minister Taimoor Jhagra and ex-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa speaker Mahmood Jan, former Punjab health minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, as well as Usman Dar's mother Rehana Dar.
In Lahore, the victories of former three-time prime minister Sharif, his daughter Maryam and former defence minister Khawaja Asif were challenged.
The petitioners claim that they were successful against their opponents as per Form 45, which is the primary source of election results at the lowest level, handed to them.
However, in their absence, their victories were allegedly turned into defeats in Form 47, which is a summary of Form 45 from each polling station.
The candidates have alleged collusion in the alteration of election results and demand that the results of Form 47 be prepared according to Form 45s.
Amir Zia, a Karachi-based senior political analyst, said that in 80 per cent of the seats, the results were what people had expected though in 20 per cent of the seats there were disputes.
But the main debate is on PML-N's seats and the people are saying several of their candidates who were losing were declared winners overnight which is raising a lot of questions, he said.
On a question about who will form the government in Pakistan, he said whoever forms the government will be a minority government. There will be a lot of bargains.
"We can't predict who will form the government," he said.
Meanwhile, a petition has been filed in Pakistan's Supreme Court to bind the elected independent candidates to join a political party within three days of the official notification of their victory.
PTI candidates contested as independents after the Supreme Court and the ECP said they could not use the party symbol, a cricket bat.
The petition, filed by Advocate Moulvi Iqbal Haider on Saturday, argued that part of the national or provincial assemblies as an independent member should be unfair, illegal, unconstitutional and contrary to the parliamentary form of governance.
Interestingly, Haider has a reputation for being a habitual litigant and had been barred from filing petitions in the Supreme Court in the past.
In the fresh petition, Haider highlighted that around 17,816 candidates participated in the February 8 general election, of which around 11,785 contested as independent candidates.
He urged the court to declare that assembly members elected as independent candidates are incompetent to participate in the process of reserved seat allocation unless they join a political party, the petitioner pleaded while citing Article 51 of the Constitution.
The article outlines the procedure for determining the number of National Assembly seats and the functioning of the house.
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Deep societal faultlines persist despite 75 years of independence: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
Judge cites denial of home to Muslim girl, opposition to Dalit women cooking mid-day meals
Hyderabad, February 23, 2026: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has said that despite repeated affirmations of constitutional morality by courts, deep societal faultlines rooted in caste and religious discrimination continue to shape everyday realities in India.
Speaking at a seminar on “Constitutional Morality and the Role of District Judiciary” organised by the Telangana Judges Association and the Telangana State Judicial Academy in Hyderabad, Justice Bhuyan reflected on the gap between constitutional ideals and social practices.
He cited a recent instance involving his daughter’s friend, a PhD scholar at a private university in Noida, who was denied accommodation in South Delhi after her surname revealed her Muslim identity. According to Justice Bhuyan, the landlady bluntly informed her that no accommodation was available once her religious background became known.
In another example from Odisha, he referred to resistance by some parents to the government’s mid-day meal programme because the food was prepared by Dalit women employed as cooks. He noted that some parents had objected aggressively and refused to allow their children to consume meals cooked by members of the Scheduled Caste community.
Describing these incidents as “the tip of the iceberg,” Justice Bhuyan said they reveal how far society remains from the benchmark of constitutional morality even 75 years into the Republic. He observed that while the Constitution lays down standards of equality and dignity, the morality practised within homes and communities often diverges sharply from those values.
He emphasised that constitutional morality requires governance through the rule of law rather than the rule of popular opinion. Referring to the evolution of the doctrine through judicial decisions, he cited Naz Foundation v Union of India, in which the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, holding that popular morality cannot restrict fundamental rights under Article 21. Though the judgment was later overturned in Suresh Kumar Koushal v Naz Foundation, the Supreme Court ultimately restored and expanded the principle in Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India, affirming that constitutional morality must prevail over majoritarian views.
“In our constitutional scheme, it is the constitutionality of the issue before the court that is relevant, not the dominant or popular view,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also addressed the functioning of the district judiciary, underlining that trial courts are the first point of contact for most litigants and form the foundation of the justice delivery system. He stressed that due importance must be given to the recording of evidence and adjudication of bail matters.
Highlighting the role of High Courts, he said their supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution is intended as a shield to correct grave jurisdictional errors, not as a mechanism to substitute the discretion or factual appreciation of trial judges.
He recalled that several distinguished judges, including Justice H R Khanna, Justice A M Ahmadi, and Justice Fathima Beevi, began their careers in the district judiciary.
On representation within the judicial system, Justice Bhuyan noted that Telangana has made significant strides in gender inclusion. Out of a sanctioned strength of 655 judicial officers in the Telangana Judicial Service, 478 are currently serving, of whom 283 are women, exceeding 50 per cent representation. He added that members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority communities, and persons with disabilities are also represented in the state’s judiciary.
He observed that greater representation of women, marginalised communities, persons with disabilities, and sexual minorities would help make the judiciary more inclusive and reflective of India’s diversity. “The judiciary must represent all the colours of the rainbow and become a rainbow institution,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also referred to the recent restoration by the Supreme Court of the requirement of a minimum three years of practice at the Bar for entry-level judicial posts. While acknowledging that the requirement ensures practical exposure, he cautioned that its impact on women aspirants, especially those from rural or small-town backgrounds facing social and financial constraints, would need to be carefully observed over time.
Concluding his address, he reiterated that the justice system must strive to bridge the gap between constitutional ideals and lived realities, ensuring that the rule of law remains paramount.
