KARACHI, Dec 24: A three-member bench of the Sindh High Court allowed PPP candidates Pir Mazharul Haq and Abdus Salam Thaheem on Monday to contest polls from PS-74 (Dadu) and PS-83 (Shahdadpur), respectively.

The petition moved by PPP candidate Saeed Ghani (NA-251, Karachi), who was disallowed by the returning officer and an appellate tribunal for his inability to produce his academic certificates, was dismissed by the bench, which consisted of Chief Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro and Justices Mrs Qaiser Iqbal and Mahmood Alam Rizvi.

The vehemently argued and contested petitions involving Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza and his wife, Dr Fahmida Mirza, and Syed Ali Bakhsh Shah alias Papu Shah and his wife, Senator Yasmin Shah, were adjourned to Dec 26 and 27 after prolonged hearing extending well into the evening. They are contesting the January 8 elections from NA-225 and PS-57 (Badin).

The petitions moved by the PPP’s Sardar Wahid Bux Bhayo against his rival from Faiz Mohammad Mehar from NA-203 (Shahdadpur) and Zulfiqar Baihan against National People’s Party’s Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi from Naushahro Feroze would also come up on Dec 26 and Dec 27, respectively.

Appearing for Mr Jatoi, Advocate Abdul Hafeez Pirzada said his client has earned a master’s degree and has concurring orders from two judicial forums in his favour yet the petitioner has chosen to re-agitate the issue. He said the petitioner has annexed bogus documents and he would seek his prosecution under Section 466 of the penal code. The Sindh University examination controller failed to appear on Monday and was re-issued a notice for Dec 27.

Advocates Farooq H. Naek and Adnan Karim submitted on behalf of Pir Mazhar that his papers were rejected though his appeal against his conviction under the Ehtesab (accountability) Act in 2002 was pending in the Supreme Court, which finally acquitted him on Dec 10. He was held ineligible because he was a convict at the time of filing his nomination on Nov 26, though an appeal is a continuation of trial and the entire question of guilt remains undecided till the disposal of the appeal. For detailed reasons to be recorded later, the bench allowed his petition by a short order.

Both the lawyers appeared for A.S. Thaheem and argued that he was neither an absconder nor a convict nor a defaulter. The petition was also allowed by another short order. Their plea on behalf of petitioner Saeed Ghani that he was unable to produce his original certificates because of a theft in his car, which was part of a conspiracy to keep him out of the electoral contest, however, failed.

Advocate Anwar Mansoor Khan argued at length against election tribunal orders disqualifying Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza and upholding the candidature of Papu Shah and Bibi Yasmin Shah. He said Mirza was neither a defaulter nor an absconder. The unpaid loan was obtained by the Mirza Sugar Mills as a body corporate and not by him personally. He was named in a blind FIR relating to former Pakistam Steel chairman Sajjad Hussain’s murder and as soon as he come to know of the accusation, he obtained bail in the first week of December. He was not a fugitive from law but was prepared to face the trial. Insofar as the certificates produced by their rival, they and the university that awarded them were bogus.

Advocates Ali Ahmed Junejo and Sofia Shah vehemently contested the petitions, saying that Zulfiqar Mirza and Dr Fahmida Mirza were executive directors and shareholders of the defaulting concern and liable for non-payment of its debt. Papu Shah’s degree has been duly scrutinized and Mrs Shah was a sitting senator who has already faced scrutiny as a member of parliament.