Musical Chairs: Adeeba claims Shumaila Rana’s seat

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Punjab Election Commission and others on a petition by Adeeba Ashraf of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz that she be declared a member of the Punjab Assembly on the seat formerly occupied by Shumaila Rana. Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed adjourned the hearing till October 12 and directed the registrar’s office to transfer the petition to Justice Umar Ata Bandial, who is already hearing Rana’s petition for the restoration of her assembly membership.  Ashraf submitted that she was after Rana in the party’s priority list for reserved seats for women and since the latter had resigned, that seat should now be hers.  Rana in her petition says that her resignation was coerced and not processed legally.



Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2011.