• Appeals against Shehbaz, Nawaz rejected in Lahore, Abbottabad
• Verdict reserved on Imran’s appeal for NA-122 seat

RAWALPINDI/LAHORE: In a series of rulings by various election appellate tribunals across the country, several politicians faced rejections regarding their eligibility to contest in the upcoming general elections, including former federal ministers Fawad Chaudhry and Murad Saeed.

On the other hand, tribunals in Lahore and Abbottabad set aside objections to the acceptance of nomination papers of the Sharif brothers in NA-132 and NA-15 constituencies.

The election tribunal in Rawalpindi, hearing Mr Chaudhry’s case, rejected his nomination papers on the charge of concealing facts from the returning officer.

The tribunal judge, Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz of the Lahore High Court, was hearing

Mr Chaudhry’s appeal against the rejection of his nomination papers to contest the upcoming elections from Jhelum’s NA-60 and NA-61 constituencies.

The former PTI leader was accused of concealing bank accounts of his spouse and foreign trips in the affidavit submitted along with his nomination papers.

Verdict reserved on Imran’s appeal

Meanwhile, another appellate tribunal in Lahore reserved its verdict on Tuesday on an appeal of former prime minister Imran Khan, who had challenged the rejection of his nomination papers from NA-122.

Mr Khan’s counsel, Advocate Uzair Bhandari, said in his concluding arguments that the conviction of the PTI founding chairman in the Toshakhana case was not a hurdle in his way of contesting the upcoming general elections.

He said the Election Commission of Pakistan was not a court and its conviction in the Toshakhana case did not amount to disqualification under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

Besides, the former premier’s sentence had already been suspended by the Islamabad High Court, the lawyer said.

Tribunal judge Justice Tariq Nadeem observed that there was a difference between the acquittal and suspension of sentence.

Appeal against Shehbaz rejected

On Tuesday, another election tribunal dismissed an appeal against the acceptance of nomination papers of former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif from NA-132.

The appellant, Shahid Orakzai, assailed the candidature of Mr Shehbaz on the basis of his alleged involvement in the 1997 attack on the Supreme Court.

He submitted that the Islamabad police, in its inquiry submitted to the Supreme Court, had identified then-chief minister Shehbaz and then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif as two top powerful people involved in the attack.

Mr Orakzai said the tribunal was empowered to verify the facts from the inquiry report in possession of the Supreme Court’s registrar.

He asked the tribunal to set aside the decision of the returning officer and reject Shehbaz Sharif’s nomination papers from NA-132. However, the tribunal dismissed the appeal and upheld the RO’s decision.

Another tribunal also dismissed an appeal against the acceptance of PML-N leader Abid Sher Ali’s nomination papers from NA-102, Faisalabad.

Another tribunal on Tuesday reserved verdict on appeals by PTI President Parvez Elahi, his wife, Qaisera Elahi, and son, Moonis Elahi, against the rejection of their nomination papers from NA-64, NA-69, PP-32 and PP-34 of Gujrat.

Another tribunal set aside a decision of the returning officer of NA-71, Sialkot, and accepted the nomination papers of Rehana Dar, mother of PTI’s former leader Usman Dar.

PTI objections on Nawaz set aside

In Abbottabad, an election appellate tribunal on Tuesday set aside PTI’s objections raised on PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s eligibility to contest the Feb 8 elections from NA-15.

PTI leader Senator Azam Khan Swati had last month challenged Nawaz’s eligibility to contest the upcoming general elections from the constituency — also called Mansehra-II — under section 62(1f) of the Constitution.

The tribunal judge, Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel, cleared the PML-N supreme leader for elections after hearing arguments of Senator Swati’s counsel, Sardar Basharat, and Nawaz Sharif’s counsel, Jehangir Jadoon.

Similarly, an appellate tribunal in Hazara on Monday dismissed the objection against the acceptance of the nomination papers of former provincial minister and PTI leader Yousuf Ayub Khan.

Yousuf Ayub Khan, the first cousin of PTI’s general secretary Omar Ayub Khan, was contesting from Haripur’s NA-18 and PK-46 seats.

Murad Saeed’s appeals rejected

In Swat, an appellate tribunal in Mingora on Tuesday dismissed both the appeals of the PTI leader Murad Saeed and issued an order to uphold the decision of the returning officers.

The returning officers had rejected Mr Saeed’s nomination papers for NA-3 and NA-4 as he was on the absconders’ list.

On Monday, the tribunal judge, Justice Muhammad Naeem Anwar, told Mr Saeed’s lawyers to ask the PTI leader to appear in person, but he failed to appear on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the election tribunal approved the nomination papers of PTI’s former provincial minister, Shakeel Ahmed, from Malakand and allowed him to contest the elections.

Nisar Ahmed Khan in Mansehra, Muhammad Sadaqat in Haripur, and Fazal Khaliq in Swat also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2024