IHC fixes Vawda’s disqualification hearing for March 18

ECP asks minister’s counsel to submit reply by March 24

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will take up on March 18 a slew of petitions seeking disqualification of Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda for allegedly submitting a false affidavit about his dual nationality.

The polls supervisory body – the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) – will also hear petitions against the federal minister on March 24.

According to a ‘cause list’ issued by the IHC Registrar Office on Tuesday, a bench headed by Justice Aamer Farooq will hear the petitions that claim that Vawda lied to the ECP while filing his nomination papers ahead of July 2018 polls.

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 news report revealed in January that the ruling PTI’s 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.

The minister apparently had a US passport No 530572047 when he filed his nomination papers. Later petitioners moved both the IHC and the ECP seeking Vawda’s disqualification.

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.

The court on Tuesday also issued notices to respondents including Vawda, Cabinet Division, secretary law and the ECP. The IHC was to hear the case on February 24 but did not take up the petitions due to non-availability of judges.

Separately, a three-member ECP bench asked the minister’s counsel to submit his complete reply to the petitions. It also decided to club all the various petitions filed by different individuals and groups, including the PPP and the PML-N.