Tribunals reject Fawad, Murad's nomination papers appeal

Advocate Faisal Chaudhry says decision on Fawad's appeal to be challenged in higher court

The appellate election tribunals dismissed on Tuesday the appeals of former and serving Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Fawad Chaudhry and Murad Saeed respectively, challenging the rejection of their nomination papers for contesting the upcoming elections.

The appellate tribunal of the Lahore High Court's Rawalpindi bench dismissed Fawad's appeal against the decision taken by the returning officer, rejecting his nomination papers from NA 60 and NA 61, Jehlum.

The rejection is a significant political setback for the former federal information minister.

Tribunal Judge Justice Chaudhary Abdul Aziz, in announcing the decision, sustained all objections against Fawad and upheld the returning officer's verdict.

The court revealed that Fawad concealed his wife's bank accounts and foreign trips, failed to submit an affidavit, and also obscured details about his movable and immovable assets.

Consequently, Fawad is now out of the election race, as is his wife Hiba Chaudhry who has already been disqualified. Advocate Faisal Chaudhry stated that the couple plans to challenge the tribunal's decision in a higher court.

Read Election tribunal allows Fawad to contest elections from Jhelum

Meanwhile, in Swat, the tribunal rejected PTI leader Murad Saeed's appeal and affirmed the RO's decision to reject his papers. The court noted that Murad's power of attorney lacked attestation, and he did not personally appear before the tribunal. Murad had submitted papers for NA 3 and NA 4.

Previously, an election tribunal in Rawalpindi recalled its decision of approving the nomination papers of former minister Fawad Chaudhry, while rejecting the nomination paper of his wife Hiba Chaudhry for not declaring assets.

The appellate tribunals in Punjab also rejected the appeal of senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and threw out the objections raised to the acceptance of the nomination papers of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), meanwhile, several PTI heavyweights won the appeals against the rejection of their nomination papers by the returning officers (ROs) concerned during the scrutiny process that concluded last weekend.