ISLAMABAD: On Sunday, two political heavyweights saw their nomination papers thrown out by the returning officers in Gujar Khan and Taxila.

The two are ex-prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf (NA-51) and former opposition leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan (NA-53).

Returning Officer Khalid Arshad rejected the nomination papers of former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.

Raj Irfan Aziz, a relative of Raja Jawaid Ikhlas, had complained that Pervez Ashraf had been misusing his discretionary funds in his constituency which amounted to pre-poll rigging and showed his partisan approach and corrupt practices.

He also produced the attested copies of different court orders, including Supreme Court judgment of March 30, 2013, in the rental power project case and the March 28, 2013, contempt proceedings.

The RO in his order observed, "Admittedly the apex court has held in its judgment in the RPP case that all the government functionaries, including this candidate (Pervez Ashraf) while increasing down-payment from 7% to 14%, had prima facie, violated the principle of transparency.”

He also noted that the apex court had also issued a notice to Pervez Ashraf on March 28, 2013, stating why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for writing a secret letter to the court in an attempt to interfere and influence it in the RPP case.

The IHC on March 28, 2013, also cancelled the contract for construction of roads in Gujar Khan and ordered that copies of the judgment be sent to chairman NAB for initiating proceedings against all those involved in the scam, including the then prime minister Pervez Ashraf.

In the meantime, the RO also rejected the nomination of Chaudhry Mohammad Riaz, a former provincial minister and PML-N leader. In PP-4, the papers of Raja Shauket Aziz Bhatti of the PML-N were also rejected.

TAXILA: PML-N stalwart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s nomination papers for PP-7 (Rawalpindi-VII) and NA-53 (Rawalpindi -IV) were rejected for not declaring accurate details of his assets.

The objections were submitted to returning officer Malik Saeed Awan by Tanveer Iqbal and Iqrar Shah advocates, the counsel for former federal Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan.

The PML-N leader appeared before the court and replied to the objections.

Talking to mediapersons, former MPA Umer Farooq, who had filed the nomination papers on behalf of Chaudhry Nisar, said an appeal would be filed with the appellant authority in Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench on Monday. However, Chaudhry Nisar’s papers were accepted from NA-52, Rawalpindi.

Moreover, the retuning officer also rejected the nominations of MQM candidate Kashif Ali Khan for PP-8 Wah Cantt and NA-53, and PPP’s Sardar Waqas Khan for PP-8.