PESHAWAR: An election appellate tribunal on Friday issued a notice to the Election Commission of Pakistan seeking its response to appeals of former federal ministers Mohammad Azam Swati and Murad Saeed and another PTI leader Khurram Zeeshan against the rejection of their nomination papers for the upcoming Senate elections.

Peshawar High Court Justice Shakeel Ahmad of the tribunal held a preliminary hearing into several appeals filed against the decisions of the returning officer to reject or accept nomination papers of different candidates for the Senate polls and fixed further proceedings for March 25.

Nomination papers of Azam Swati, Murad Saeed and Khurram Zeeshan were rejected by the returning officer on multiple grounds. The PTI leaders challenged those orders with the appellate tribunal.

Lawyers Qazi Mohammad Anwar, Ali Azim Afridi and Barrister Waqar Ali appeared for the appellants and contended that the returning officer had erred while disqualifying their clients from contesting the Senate polls.

Tribunal turns down plea for Faisal Javed’s disqualification

Mr Anwar pointed out that Mr Swati had filed two appeals as his nomination papers were rejected both for general seats and those reserved for technocrats.

When asked by the tribunal, the lawyer said the objections were made to the papers of his clients by another candidate, Taj Mohammad Afridi.

About Mr Swati, he said the objector had claimed that the appellant didn’t mention some of his properties in his nomination papers and that he was named in several criminal cases.

The tribunal asked what happened when his nomination papers were rejected during the general elections.

Barrister Waqar said the papers of both Azam Swati and Murad Saeed were rejected during the general elections as they were nominated in criminal cases.

He added that when their petitions were fixed before a three-member high court bench against their disqualification, they had announced their withdrawal from the general elections, after which those petitions were disposed of and the “merit was not touched in the order.”

FAISAL JAVED CASE: The tribunal rejected an appeal against the acceptance of the nomination papers of PTI leader and former senator Faisal Javed and declared him qualified for the polls.

The appeal was filed by an objector, Zahir Khan, who had challenged the nomination papers of Faisal Javed before the returning officer, but his objection was rejected.

The appellant’s counsel contended that Faisal Javed had landed property in Swabi, but he had not mentioned the same in his nomination papers and had concealed it.

Faisal’s lawyer stated that they had submitted an application to Swabi’s deputy commissioner to inform them about any property in the name of his client, but he stated that the property in question was not in his name.

The tribunal, after hearing arguments from both sides, rejected the appeal.

Meanwhile, in another appeal requesting the rejection of the nomination papers of PTI leader Azhar Mashwani for a general seat in the polls, the appellant’s counsel said he had property in Dera Ghazi Khan district but had concealed it and not mentioned it in the nomination papers.

Advocate Syed Sikandar Hayat Shah appeared for Mr Mashwani and contended that the appeal wasn’t based on facts as his client did not have any property in DG Khan.

He said the appellant had claimed that Mr Mashwani belonged to Swabi, whereas he, in fact, hailed from Mansehra district. The appellant’s counsel said the name and parentage of the person shown as the owner of the property were those of Mr Mashwani.

The tribunal directed Sikandar Hayat to submit an affidavit from his client stating that the property didn’t belong to him, along with a photocopy of his CNIC, after which the appeal would be disposed of.

Meanwhile, the tribunal sought the response of the ECP to the appeals of PTI leaders Ayesha Bano and Irfan Saleem, who are also poll candidates, against the acceptance of nomination papers of some of their rival candidates.

They filed appeals seeking rejection of the nomination papers of JUI-F candidates Dilawar Khan and Shazia and those of PPPP nominees Rubina Khalid, Fida Mohammad, and Qaizar Khan.

Advocate Babar Khan Yousafzai appeared for the appellants and said the proposers and seconders of the candidates, whose nomination papers were challenged, were the same, whereas under the Elections Rules, a person should not be the proposer or seconder of more than one candidate.

The ECP’s lawyer, Mohsin Kamran Siddique, said the candidates had been contesting for seats in different categories, including general ones and technocrats and women, and under the rules, a proposer could propose or second more than one candidate for different categories.

The tribunal directed him to submit the ECP’s response on the matter.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2024