Tribunal gives clean chit to Sharif family to contest polls

Dismisses PTI appeals, challenging acceptance of nomination papers for Nawaz, Shehbaz and Maryam

LAHORE:

The election appellate tribunals on Wednesday gave a clean chit to members of the Sharif family to contest the upcoming general elections, scheduled to be held on February 8, after dismissing appeals filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) challenging the acceptance of the nomination papers for Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, and Maryam Nawaz.

The election tribunals, comprising of 12 judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC), adjudicated appeals filed by candidates challenging the decisions of the respective Returning Officers regarding the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers.

The appeals against the Sharif family centred around the acceptance of nomination papers for Nawaz Sharif from NA-130, Shehbaz Sharif from NA-132, and Maryam Nawaz from NA-119.

The petitioner had objected to how the papers of Nawaz Sharif could be accepted, considering his lifetime disqualification.

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The appellant raised various questions before the election tribunal, seeking clarification on whether the nomination papers of an individual disqualified for a lifetime by the Supreme Court of Pakistan could be accepted.

The appellant had also contested the Returning Officer's decision to accept the nomination papers of Shehbaz Sharif, asserting that he had been identified as the mastermind behind the alleged criminal attack on the Supreme Court on November 28, 1997.

Furthermore, the appellant contested the Returning Officer's decision to accept the nomination papers of Maryam Nawaz, arguing that she did not meet the criteria of being "Sadiq and Ameen" (truthful and trustworthy).

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However, the tribunals dismissed the petitions against the Returning Officers' decisions to accept these nominations.

A tribunal also gave a clean chit to PTI’s Dr Yasmeen Rashid from NA-130, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed from PP-169, and other candidates from different constituencies by dismissing the Returning Officer's decisions wherein their nomination papers had been rejected.

The tribunals also upheld the Returning Officers' decisions against PTI leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, his wife Qaisara Elahi, and their son Moonis Elahi for NA-64, NA-69, PP-32, and PP-34 respectively.

A tribunal also upheld the rejection of former prime minister Imran Khan's nomination papers for Lahore's NA-122 and PS 89 of Mianwali, resulting in his exclusion from the upcoming general elections.

The tribunal upheld the Returning Officer's (RO) decision, which stated that the candidate's endorser did not belong to the constituency. Similarly, Judge Chaudhry Abdul Aziz dismissed Imran's appeal for NA-89, supporting the RO's objections.

The tribunal noted that Imran's conviction in the Toshakhana case makes him ineligible to contest the election, emphasising that the length of the sentence is irrelevant till a sentence is in field.