ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has dismissed the references seeking disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) dissident members of the National Assembly, Aaj News reported on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, a three-member bench of the ECP headed by Cheif Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja reserved the verdict.

Announcing the reserved verdict, the ECP remarked that references filed against 20 dissident PTI MNAs were not found in accordance with the Constitution.

Earlier the ECP rejected to accept more records from PTI, to which PTI’s counsel Faisal Chaudhary said that the verdict was controversial and PTI would appeal against the verdict.

The PTI lawyer requested for a copy of the verdict.

Presenting his arguments, Noor Alam Khan’s lawyer barrister Gohar Khan said that his client was still a member of PTI.

He maintained that Noor had reservations over some party decisions, adding that his client had received a show-cause notice on March 19 and had sent his reply on March 22.

Noor’s lawyer said that his client neither joined any other political party nor had he cast vote on no-trust motion against the then prime minister Imran Khan.

He said that Noor was declared as defected before the vote on no-confidence motion against the former premier.

The ECP bench member Nasir Durrani inquired how it was concluded that only a five-member bench of the Commission can announce the verdict.

At this, Gohar replied that the Supreme Court has declared that only a full court of ECP can announce a verdict in a disqualification case.

The PTI had filed references against 20 PTI MNAs seeking their disqualification under Article 63(A) of the Constitution.

Noor Alam Khan, Dr Mohammad Afzal Khan Dhandla, Nawab Sher Waseer, Raja Riaz Ahmad, Ahmed Hussain Deharr, Rana Mohammad Qasim Noon, Asim Nazeer, Amjad Farooq Khosa, Aamir Liaquat Hussain, Chaudhry Farrukh Altaf, Syed Mobeen Ahmed, Sayed Sami-ul-Hassan Gillani, Mohammad Abdul Ghaffar Wattoo, Sayed Basit Ahmad Sultan, Aamir Talal Gopang, Sardar Riaz Mehmood Khan Mazari, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, Wajiha Qamar, Nuzhat Pathan and Javeria Zafar are the lawmakers against whom the references were filed.