ISLAMABAD, April 8: A single bench comprising Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Sardar Mohammad Aslam here Tuesday adjourned hearing of bail plea of former federal minister for communications Shahid Jamil Qureshi till April 11.

Advocate Qasim Chauhan, appearing as counsel for the respondents (Kafila Siddiqui), requested for time as his services were most recently hired by his clients.

Senior lawyer Wasim Sajjad appeared as counsel for the former minister.

The former minister was arrested for his alleged involvement in the murder of Kafila Siddiqui, a Canadian businesswoman, on June 9 last year.

Kafila Siddiqui, 38, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, was found dead at the house of Shahid Jamil Qureshi in Sector G-11/3.

The Federal Capital police had arrested Shahid Jamil after registering a murder case on the application of her brother Mustafa Siddiqui.

Mr Siddiqui in his application submitted with the Shalimar police station had held Shahid Qureshi responsible for the death of her sister in mysterious circumstances.

Poll plea hearing put off

A division bench of the IHC adjourned hearing of a writ petition about alleged rigging in NA-271 Kharan-cum-Washuk-cum- Panjgur till April 21.

The bench comprising Justice Mohammad Munir Paracha and Justice Syed Qalbe Hassan resumed hearing of a writ petition filed by Lt-Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch (retired) through senior lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa.

Advocate Mohammad Riaz Ahmed appeared as counsel for the respondent Ahsanullah Reki returning candidate of PML-Q.

He informed the bench that an application had been submitted with the Election Commission for transferring the case to an election tribunal set up in Balochistan.

He said that the matter belonged to Balochistan province and it could not be argued simultaneously at both forums, so it should be dismissed.

He also objected to absence of the petitioner.

Justice Paracha remarked that things were not so simple as cited by the counsel.

The petitioner had alleged that in two districts — Kharan and Panjgur — he was in a winning position while in Washuk the PML-Q candidate Ahsanullah Reki resorted to alleged rigging in connivance with the polling staff.

The results from these two districts were announced earlier while the result of Washuk was stopped, the petitioner maintained. He said a district returning officer (DRO) from Noshki was sent by the ECP to check the anomalies of votes as the earlier district returning officer was a brother of the district nazim who was using his influence.

The DRO found difference of votes through inquiry, as more votes were stuffed in the ballot boxes than the number of ballot papers issued from hundred-page leaflets. He said on February 19 and 20, two different results were announced showing a difference of votes from 562 to 681 respectively, whereas the DRO’s scrutiny placed the difference at only fifty one votes.

The petitioner claimed that when the rejected, invalid and fake votes were set aside he led the results.—APP