Petition filed in ECP for Vawda’s disqualification

Petitioner claims minister held dual nationality at time of filing of nomination papers

ISLAMABAD: A petitioner has approached the top polls supervisory body seeking disqualification of the Federal Minister of Water Resources Faisal Vawda in the wake of a news report that claimed that Vowda had dual nationality when he filed his nomination papers to contest 2018 polls.

Faiq Shah, chairman of a little known Amn Tarraqi Party, has petitioned the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), requesting that the PTI leader be disqualified under Section 62-1-F of the Constitution.

The petitioner said that the minister is no longer Sadiq and Ameen [truthful and trustworthy] as he filed a false affidavit with regard to his nationality.

Vawda won election from the National Assembly’s NA-249 constituency in July 28, 2018 general election and was later included in the cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan as a federal minister.

However, a report revealed that the PTI leader was a US national at the time of filing his nomination papers – on June 11, 2018 – and applied for renunciation of his US nationality a week after – on June 18 – after the ECP accepted his nomination papers.

Pakistani law prohibits a dual national from contesting election unless he gives up his secondary nationality. The apex court has already disqualified two lawmakers, Haroon Akhtar and Saadia Abbasi, for holding dual nationalities at the time of filing papers to the ECP.

According to sources, the minister had a US passport No 530572047 when he filed his nomination papers and a petition may be filed against him to the ECP or the Supreme Court under Section 62-1-c of the Constitution.