Pakistan

SHC admits plea seeking Faisal Vawda’s disqualification

ECP and IHC have also admitted pleas seeking Vawda’s disqualification

Our Correspondent February 11, 2020

A file photo of Faisal Vawda in the National Assembly. PHOTO: FILE

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday admitted a petition seeking the disqualification of Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda for allegedly lying to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ahead of the July 2018 general elections.

Advocate Qadir Khan Mandokhel pleaded in the petition that Vawda had concealed his dual citizenship at the time of filing nomination papers to the polls’ supervisory body.

Notices issued over Faisal Vawda petition

“When the matter was taken up by the court, Vawda quietly applied to surrender his US citizenship,” Mandokhel claimed in his petition. “Evidence suggests that Faisal Vawda was a dual citizen at the time of the election, thus he should be disqualified and be ordered to return all perks and privileges.”

Earlier in January, the ECP and Islamabad High Court (IHC) had also admitted pleas which sought Vawda’s disqualification.

Faiq Shah, chairman of little known Amn Tarraqi Party, has petitioned the 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.

Meanwhile, Mian Mohammad Faisal’s counsel Jehangir Jadoon had argued before the IHC bench, presided by Justice Aamer Farooq, that the federal minister had submitted a false affidavit while filing his nomination papers to the ECP.

IHC inquired about the last date for filing of nomination papers to which the lawyer replied that June 11, 2018, was the last date.

IHC also admits plea seeking Faisal Vawda’s disqualification

“The minister was a dual national when he submitted his nomination papers. According to the Supreme Court’s decision, Vawda was supposed to surrender his US nationality before filing the nomination papers,” Jadoon said.

“He is the federal minister for water resources and is overseeing major projects. He should be stopped from working,” he added.

The court directed Vawda to submit a reply by February 24.