A Lahore High Court (LHC) judge on Friday referred a petition, seeking directions for removing Imran Khan from the office of the chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to the LHC chief justice with a request to form a larger bench for its hearing. The court observed that important law points had been raised through the petition and it needed consideration. Justice Muhammad Sajid Mehmood Sethi heard the petition, filed by Advocate Muhammad Afaq. An additional attorney general appeared before the court during Friday’s proceedings, and sought time for filing a reply to the petition. The court allowed the request and adjourned further hearing. Advocate Muhammad Afaq had filed the petition, wherein the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), federal government and others were impleaded as respondents. He submitted that the ECP had disqualified Imran Khan and he had no legal standing to continue as the PTI chairman. He requested the court to issue directions for removing Imran Khan from the office of the PTI chairman and order the party to appoint a new chairman. On October 21, 2022, the ECP had declared Imran Khan guilty of corrupt practices and disqualified him from being a member of the parliament in the Toshakhana case. Imran Khan had challenged the verdict in the Islamabad High Court.