Two more days granted for polls nominations

Imran, Tareen defy ban to enter race for NA-89 Mianwali and NA-155 Lodhran respectively

LODHRAN/ MULTAN/ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday extended the deadline for the submission of nomination papers by two days for the next general elections scheduled for February 8 next year as former premier Imran Khan had his documents filed as a candidate from the constituency of NA-89 Mianwali while IPP founder Jahangir

Tareen entered the race from NA-155 Lodhran.

As per the original election schedule issued by the ECP last week, the last date for filing the nomination papers for the seats of the National Assembly and provincial legislatures was set to expire on Friday at 4:30pm.

However, in a statement, the electoral watchdog announced that the last date had been moved forward by two days to December 24 (Sunday).

The ECP statement read that the decision was made after requests from political parties to facilitate the process.

“Political parties must submit priority lists for specific seats to returning officers within the stipulated time," the commission added.

The statement continued that the amended schedule was also available on the ECP’s website.

In another significant development, the PTI founding chairman had his nomination papers submitted to the ECP for NA-89 in Mianwali.

The move came a day after the Islamabad High Court dismissed the former premier’s application seeking the suspension of his conviction in the Toshakhana (gift repository) case.

The order was believed to have effectively eliminated the possibility of the PTI founder contesting the upcoming general elections.

However, the returning officer for NA-89 Mianwali collected the nomination papers and handed over the receipt to Imran’s representatives including Barrister Lamia Niazi and Advocate Ziaullah Khan Niazi.

NA-89 Mianwali is Imran’s native constituency and he had retained this seat in the previous elections as well.

Other candidates who submitted their nomination papers for this constituency included IPP’s Major (retd) Khurram Hameed Khan Rokhri, Nawabzada Malik Amir Muhammad Khan of the PPP, Obaidullah Khan Shadikhel of the PML-N, and Pir Aminullah of the TLP.

Another political stalwart, IPP founder Jahangir Tareen, submitted his nomination papers for the constituency of NA-155 Lodhran. Tareen submitted his documents despite his lifetime disqualification as a parliamentarian.

The IPP founder handed over his papers in the presence of his son Ali Khan Tareen and party leaders Nazir Ahmad Khan Baloch and Sardar Irshad Abbas Khan Ghalo.

Speaking to the media after submitting his papers to the ECP, Tareen said he was contesting the polls from Lodhran because its residents had always showed great affection for him.

Read Will PTI’s virtual strength translate into votes?

On a question of seat adjustment with the PML-N, he replied that committees had been formed and they were working on the matter.

Tareen vowed that if he won the election, he would bring a package of Rs5 billion instead of Rs2.5 billion for the people of Lodhran.

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif is expected to submit his nomination papers as well despite a ban on his participation because of court convictions.

A day earlier, the PML-N joined its allies, the JUI-F and MQM-P, in requesting a two-day extension beyond the December 22 deadline for filing nomination papers for the upcoming general elections.

However, the ECP’s decision to extend the deadline did not go down well with former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar.

Expressing his frustration on a post on X (formerly Twitter), he sarcastically wrote that the ECP had extended the date of submission of nomination papers on the “request of the PML-N”.

“The attitude of the judiciary and the Election Commission towards the PML-N is such that ‘no one should harass my beloved’,” he maintained.

“So why not carry out the coronation ceremony while sitting at home. Why waste the taxpayers’ billions [of rupees] on the elections?” he added.

On Friday, 10 more candidates, including a member of the transgender community, submitted their nomination papers for three National Assembly constituencies in Islamabad -- NA-46, NA-47, and NA-48.

So far, a total of 36 candidates have submitted their nomination papers to the ECP for these constituencies in three days.

In a related development, Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, a senior judge of the Multan High Court, accepted the writ petitions filed by PTI candidates Barrister Taimur Malik and Begum Ayesha Nazir Jutt, contesting the polls from constituencies NA-148 and NA- 156. The court ordered the district administration and police not to harass the petitioners.

Justice Dogar also disposed of a writ petition filed by PTI leader and former MPA, Chaudhry Ehsanul Haq Nolatia, directing the returning officer of Chowk Sarwar Shaheed constituency PP-272 to receive the nomination papers from the nominees duly endorsed by the petitioner.

The judge further took notice of Syed Basit Sultan Bukhari, a candidate from NA-177 Muzaffargarh, being declared a defaulter and the rejection of his nomination papers despite submitting his tax returns.

Justice Dogar ordered the Jatoi assistant commissioner of Muzaffargarh district that he should issue a clearance certificate on the basis of payment of the candidate’s taxes and receive his nomination papers from the returning officers.

(With input from our correspondent in Multan, News Desk in Karachi and agencies)