Plea against PPP’s Najmi Alam contesting LG polls rejected

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) petition challenging the participation of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Najmi Alam in the upcoming local body elections.

A two-member bench headed by Sindh Chief Justice Ahmad Ali Sheikh heard the PTI's petition against the PPP leader.

PTI's counsel Shahab Imam Advocate stated that Najmi Alam is the Vice Chairman of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) therefore he cannot contest the local government elections as per the law. As a public servant, Najmi Alam cannot take part in an election, the PTI counsel argued.

The Sindh chief justice inquired whether the petitioner had challenged the nomination papers of the PPP candidate.

The acceptance of nomination papers should first be challenged on the relevant forum, the court declared, to which Shahab Imam Advocate stated that an application was submitted to the Provincial Election Commission but no response was received.

Justice Sheikh inquired whether the competent authority to appeal was approached by the petitioner and remarked that even if Najmi Alam was elected, the petitioner could make an appeal at the tribunal. "You should have challenged the nomination papers in the relevant forum before coming to court," the chief justice said.

The court dismissed the petition declaring it as inadmissible.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2023.