IHC declares Umar, Wazir eligible to contest K-P LG polls

Turns down ECP’s decision of disqualifying both the candidates

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday declared ruling PTI’s Umar Amin Gandapur and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Minister Shah Muhammad Wazir eligible to contest the second phase of the local government elections in the province scheduled for March 31 while turning down the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Earlier this week, the ECP had disqualified Umar from running for mayor from Dera Ismail Khan over flouting the LG polls’ code of conduct. It had also barred the mayoral candidate’s brother Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur from addressing any gathering or taking part in any political activity in the district.

Read CEC orders expulsion of PTI minister Gandapur from DI Khan for violating election rules

The court upheld the ECP’s decision of imposing a fine on Ali Gandapur. Chief Justice Athar Minallah announced the judgment on petitions filed by Umar and Wazir against the ECP’s disqualification decision. The court stated that Umar’s brother, Ali, ran his election campaign. However, instead of imposing a fine, the ECP directly disqualified him.

The chief justice remarked that first the ECP had to impose a fine on Umar, adding that the step of disqualification came after it. “How could the ECP bypass the phase of fine,” CJ Minallah remarked.
The court, subsequently, allowed Umar to participate in the mayoral election from Dera Ismail Khan.

The court also turned down the ECP’s decision of disqualifying Wazir for a period of five years on a complaint about creating a law and order situation during the LG elections in Bakakhel tehsil. Justice Minallah while hearing Wazir's plea had maintained that a minister picking up a ballot box during elections was a violation.

“The entire political party is responsible for such a serious violation,” Justice Minallah said, adding that such allegations were not trivial. However, Wazir’s lawyer stated that the allegations against him were made by the opposing candidate and were false.

Read more ECP issues K-P LG polls’ revised schedule

He claimed that the petitioner, Mohabbat Khan, was not present at the site of the incident, but lodged a complaint nonetheless, adding that he was a member of the opposition party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). “What happened at the election was not the work of local people. The area borders Afghanistan, where JUI has a stronghold,” the lawyer said, further alleging that "no one was speaking of those who brought the Taliban into the election from the other side of the border".

The CJ asked if the opposite side was taking their names too. The lawyer stated that even they were not naming them. The court, however, upheld the ECP’s decision of disqualifying Mamoonur Rashid from participating in the LG elections. Polling for the second phase of local government elections in 18 districts of K-P will be held on March 31, according to the revised poll schedule issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan on Wednesday. Earlier, the LG polls were slated to be held on March 27.