LHC order allowing Dar to contest Senate election challenged in SC

Petition moved by PPP candidate Nawazish Pirzada asks SC to set aside high court order

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court (LHC) judgement allowing former finance minister Ishaq Dar to contest the Senate elections has been challenged in the Supreme Court (SC).

The petition, moved by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Nawazish Pirzada, requests the top court to suspend the LHC order.



On February 17, an appellate election tribunal of the LHC granted Dar permission to contest Senate election, setting aside an order of the returning officer (RO) who had rejected his nomination papers.

On March 3, the former finance minister won a Senate seat as a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) backed independent candidate.

The petition contends that an absconder cannot contest elections.

"The apex court has categorically declared that a fugitive from law loses his normal rights granted under the substantive as well as procedural laws," reads the petition.

"The impugned order may very kindly be set-aside, resultantly the nomination papers of the respondent no. 4 from the seat of Technocrat, province of Punjab, Senate Elections 2018, may very kindly be rejected and election of the respondent no. 4 may be declared void and set aside," the petition reads further.



Previously, the Election Commission of Pakistan had rejected Dar’s nomination papers for being a court absconder in a corruption and money-laundering reference pending against him in an accountability court.



Dar had also submitted his papers for two different Senate election categories with a single bank account. The unattested copies of his CNIC attached with his papers were also a reason for the rejection of his papers.