LAHORE: A Lahore High Court three-judge bench was dissolved on Wednesday after its head, Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan, recused himself from hearing a petition challenging decisions of returning officer and an election tribunal regarding acceptance of PML-N’s Kulsoom Nawaz’s nomination papers for NA-120 by-poll.

Justice Muhammad Kazim Raza Shamsi and Justice Ali Akbar Qureshi were the other members of the full bench, which took up the petition filed by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate Faisal Mir.

The judges referred the petition to the acting chief justice for constitution of a new bench on the matter.

Mr Mir had contended that the returning officer (RO) and the election tribunal set aside objections raised to the candidature of Ms Nawaz and accepted her nomination papers.

He pleaded that neither the RO nor the tribunal looked into the details of the objections regarding concealment of assets by the PML-N’s candidate. He stated the declaration filed by Ms Nawaz regarding her and her spouse’s assets were entirely false and misleading.

Mir asked the court to set aside the decisions of the RO and the election tribunal and reject the nomination papers of Kulsoom Nawaz for the by-poll in NA-120.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Federal Investigation of Agency (FIA) have also been made parties in the petition.

In a last week’s decision, a two-member election tribunal comprising LHC judges had dismissed all appeals filed by the opposition parties’ candidates against acceptance of Ms Nawaz’s nomination papers.

The appellants’ lawyers had failed to answer the queries posed by the tribunal’s head, Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh, regarding the objections raised in the appeals.

Two appeals were filed by as many candidates of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) --- Dr Yasmin Rashid and Andleeb Abbas, besides two other separately filed by Faisal Mir of the PPP and Advocate Ishtiaq Ahmad Chaudhry of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT). Advocate Chaudhry had later withdrawn his candidature in favour of the PTI’s candidate.

PAT: The Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) also filed a similar petition against the acceptance of Ms Nawaz’s nomination papers for the by-poll in NA-120.

PAT leader Ishtiaq Ahmad Chaudhry said in his plea that Ms Nawaz concealed an FIR on treason charges lodged against her during Musharraf regime.

He said the PML-N’s candidate also concealed her assets and income in the nomination papers. He said the respondent showed herself as a dependent of her spouse Nawaz Sharif, however, she was a share-holder in many companies.

Mr Chaudhry said Ms Nawaz also failed to disclose agreement and salary for a UAE Iqama (work permit) attached with her nomination papers. He alleged the PML-N’s candidate was also a defaulter of agriculture income tax and concealed details of her Murree residence too.

The petitioner said the RO and election tribunal dismissed his appeals without going into details of the objections.

He asked the court to set aside the impugned decisions and reject the nomination papers of Kulsoom Nawaz.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2017