PHOTO: REUTERS
Challenging the nomination in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday, petitioner Ishtiaq Chaudhary, the PAT candidate from the same constituency, claimed that Kulsoom concealed the truth by hiding her ‘Iqama’.
He said Kulsoom did not disclose her husband’s Dubai salary as an asset in her wealth statement, which was mandatory in the light of the Supreme Court judgment against her husband. The nominee did not either tender her status as deputy chairman of the company, he claimed.
The petitioner submitted that Kulsoom’s nomination papers did not mention the value of her household furniture and other items. He maintained that the nominee was bound to disclose the unclaimed salary, over which Nawaz was disqualified, in the spouse section of the wealth statement.
‘Nawaz Sharif’ files nomination papers for NA-120 by-poll
He further claimed that the PML-N “essentially does not exist anymore”. He submitted that the nominee could not contest on a PML-N ticket as after the former premier’s disqualification under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, a party registered under his name was automatically erased after the relevant ECP notification was issued.
The petitioner also claimed that the PML-N’s electoral symbol ‘tiger’ was also automatically cancelled in the light of the July 28 judgment of the apex court. He added that under Section 5 of the Political Parties Order, no party ticket could be given to any nominee unless a president was elected under the name of a new party with a new symbol.
The returning officer sought a reply from Kulsoom by August 17.
Meanwhile, the PPP candidate for NA-120 by-election, Faisal Mir, also filed an objection petition with the ECP on Tuesday.
Voting machines to be used in NA-120
Mir, in the petition filed by his lawyer Chaudhry Zafar H Ahmad, claimed the PML-N candidate belonged to a ‘notorious family’ whose names featured in the Panama Papers.
He added that the candidate’s husband was recently disqualified as prime minister by the apex court and that the court had also directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file references against the Sharif family. He claimed the Kulsoom was a direct beneficial owner of assets that featured in the JIT probe and the NAB references.
The petitioner added that apart from these references, civil and criminal cases would also be filed against the PML-N candidate’s family. He claimed that Kulsoom was picked as a candidate to allow the Sharif family to keep an illegal grip on power and harass state functionaries and departments to help Nawaz escape from the grip of the law.
The petitioner said that Kulsoom had failed to disclose her wealth in her nomination papers, accusing her of deliberately, and with mala-fide intent, concealing her sources of financial benefits, hence making her liable to be disqualified. He also claimed she did not meet the conditions of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.
NA-120 election campaigns gaining serious momentum
He further claimed that Kulsoom held foreign citizenship and an iqamah which would bar her from contesting the election.
He said the PML-N candidate was not eligible to contest the election because the party had not followed through on an ECP notification directing it to replace the party’s president and chairman in the wake of Nawaz’s disqualification.
PPP candidate, Mir, has prayed to the ECP to reject nomination papers of the PML-N candidate for NA-120 by-election on the mentioned grounds.
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