LAHORE:
A full bench of the Lahore High Court on Friday provisionally allowed former MNA Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain to contest elections.
The bench dismissed petitions challenging the acceptance of the nominations of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Imran Khan and former MNA Hamza Shahbaz. The petitioners were asked to raise their objections before the election commission.
The bench also issued a notice to former federal minister Qamar Zaman Kaira on a petition challenging his candidature.
The bench consisting of Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi disqualified former minister Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan from running for NA-79. The bench held that allegations of tax evasion had been proven against Khan. Khan’s nomination papers had been previously rejected by the returning officer and an election tribunal.
While hearing Wajahat Hussain’s petition against the rejection of his nomination from NA-104 and PP-108 (Gujrat), the bench granted him provisional permission to participate in the election and issued a notice to the returning officer for April 24 and directed him to add Hussain’s name to the list of eligible candidates. Former MPA Nawabzada Ghazanfar Ali Gull had accused Hussain of tax evasion, having bank loans written off and concealing his assets in his nomination papers.
Amina Khan, a voter, alleged that Imran Khan had had illicit relations with a European woman, Sita White, and had a daughter with her too. The bench directed her to raise the objections before the election commission, which it said was the proper forum for such matters.
The bench sought a reply from Kaira till April 22, on a petition challenging the acceptance of his nomination papers from NA-106, Gujrat. Muhammad Shabbir, a voter, had submitted that Kaira had told the court he would pay the outstanding liability in a case against Shabbir’s brother. Kaira had given a cheque for Rs1 million that bounced, said Shabbir.
Suhail Malik, the PPP candidate from the constituency, had filed a petition claiming that Hamza Shahbaz had not disclosed his assets before the election commission. He said Shahbaz had also concealed his marriage with Ayesha Ahad Malik. The bench disposed of the petition and directed him to file a complaint with the election commission.
The bench suspended the orders of the election tribunal against PTI candidate Rai Hassan Nawaz (NA-162).
Chaudhry Zahid Iqbal, the PML-N candidate from NA-162, Sahiwal, had been disqualified by the election tribunal for being a dual national. Iqbal’s counsel submitted that he had renounced his UK nationality and should be allowed to contest elections. The bench directed the returning officer to include Iqbal’s name to the list of eligible candidates.
PML-N candidate from PP-135, Khawaja Waseem, had been accused of tax evasion and concealing assets. The bench provisionally allowed him to contest the election.
The bench disqualified PML-N candidate Rana Jameel Hasan, from PP-174, Nankana. The bench held that Hasan had been found guilty of defaulting on a Rs9 million loan.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2013.
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