Cantonment Elections: Dual national allowed to contest polls

LAHORE: Lahore High Court on Thursday allowed a dual national to contest the forthcoming election in a cantonment board. The returning officer (RO) had disqualified Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf candidate Khwaja Muhammad Naseer on the objection of opponent candidate Zahid Nasim Shamsi.  The election appellate tribunal had upheld the ruling. Naseer had then challenged the RO’s decision in the LHC through a writ petition. The counsel for the petitioner argued that the officer and tribunal had disqualified his client under Article 63 of the Constitution illegally and unconstitutionally. He said the article only proscribed dual nationals from contesting general elections. The counsel said the article was not applicable to LB polls. He said being a Pakistani citizen was the only requirement for contesting the elections in accordance with the Cantonment Board Ordinance. He said no restriction imposed on dual nationals in this regard.  The deputy attorney general informed the court that dual nationals might be able to contest the elections according to relevant laws. The court granted the petitioner permission to contest elections in Ward-1 of the Sialkot Cantt Board by setting aside the RO and tribunal’s decisions.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2015.