SUKKUR, Sept 30: The district and sessions judge and district returning officer, Shikarpur, Rashid Ali Mirza, on Tuesday disposed of the election appeal of Mohammad Imran Mahar, a candidate for the office of Taluka Nazim Lakhi Ghulam Shah, Shikarpur district.

He had challenged in the appeal the acceptance of the nomination of his opponent/respondent, Abdul Qayoom Mughal, by the returning officer, Taluka Council Lakhi Ghulam Shah.

In his order, the district returning officer observed that if by any lapse a person succeeds in contesting the election by converting the condition as laid down in clause (i) of sub-rule (1) of rule 14 of the Local Government Election Ordinance, 2000-2001, he can be disqualified by the chief election commissioner.

He ruled there is no restriction on the appellate authority not to interfere and he can also see that the candidate has not converted the rules.

The respondent has converted the rules regarding qualification for candidates and therefore he was not qualified to be elected as a member, the order said.

The returning officer has in fact erred in accepting the respondent’s nomination form, the district returning officer remarked in the order.

Earlier, the counsel of the appellant in his arguments contended before the district returning officer that the respondent, Abdul Qayoom, was not qualified to contest the election of Tehsil Nazim Lakhi Ghulam Shah because he had failed to disclose all his assets.

He went on to add that the details of the respondent’s assets in Form-XIX had omitted to mention plot No49 in Lakhi, which was worth over Rs200,000.

He produced a true copy of Form-II of the property and its valuation issued by the Mukhtiarkar, Lakhi.

According to the counsel, the respondent possessed assets which are inconsistent with his declaration of assets, and, therefore, prayed before the election appellate authority/district returning officer to reject his form, as defined in Paragraph-14 (1)(i) of the Local Government Election Ordinance 2000-2001, by accepting the appeal.

PROTEST: A truck driver was gunned down, by armed robbers, at Baiji stand near Pano Akil, Sukkur district, on Sunday.

At Baiji stand, some unidentified armed robbers tried to loot truck driver Ghanwar. On resisting, the outlaws shot him dead and fled. Later, other truck drivers, with the body of the dead driver, blocked the National Highway for about six hours.

The TPO, Pano Akil, arrived at the spot and managed to end the blockade by assuring the protesting drivers of the arrest of the culprits.

TEACHERS: The Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) took out a procession to protest against the EDO (Education), Sukkur, on Monday.

The procession marched towards the office of the EDO (Education). Not finding him in his office, the protesting professors and lecturers forced the staff out and locked the building with locks they had brought with them.