Scrutiny of 800 nominations finalised
PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Nomination papers of more than 800 candidates contesting general elections for 22 seats of the National Assembly and 47 seats of the Sindh Assembly from seven districts of Karachi, as well as candidates vying for reserved seats, have been scrutinised during the past two days.
The nomination papers of most candidates were approved, while few of them were rejected. The scrutiny of nomination forms will continue until December 30.
The scrutiny of forms for over 800 candidates has been completed. Notably, MQM Pakistan leader Aminul Haq's nomination papers for NA 246 West, Sheikh Salahuddin's for NA 248 in District Central, Shabbir Ahmed Qaim Khani's for NA 233 Korangi, and Javed Hanif's for NA 233 Korangi were declared valid.
Former member of National Assembly from Lyari, Shakoor Shad also had his papers approved for NA 239 South, while PPP candidate Senator Salim Mandvi's nomination papers for NA 241 South were declared valid after scrutiny.
Read RO accepts Nawaz's nomination papers for NA-130 Lahore
On the other side, PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh claimed that his nomination papers for NA-238 have been rejected, a similar claim was made by Firdous Shamim of PTI. However, PTI's former member Sindh Assembly Khurram Sher Zaman stated that his form from NA 241 South has been declared valid.
Jamaat-e-Islami candidates including Munam Zafar's papers, contesting from NA 247 District Central, and Abdul Rasheed's for NA 240 South were also approved. Papers of MQM Pakistan leader Asiya Ishaq, PPP's Mehtab Akbar Rashidi, and Rana Amir Singh on minority seats were also approved. Similarly, nomination papers for Mahesh Kumar of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) were approved.
The last date for appeals against the decisions of the returning officers is January 3, 2024. The decisions on these appeals will be made by January 10, and the revised list of candidates will be released on January 11 while January 12 is the last date for withdrawal of papers. Election symbols will be allotted on January 13.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 27th, 2023.