Waheeda Shah case: Court to take up plea on July 25

The deputy attorney general has reportedly asked the high court to appear at Karachi hearing.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has put off the hearing of Waheeda Shah’s petition against her disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan until July 25. From the next hearing date, the case will be heard on a day-to -day basis.

Pakistan Peoples Party’s Shah had contested the elections from PS-53 in Hyderabad and won the seat. She was later disqualified as a provincial assembly lawmaker by the election commission, after she was caught on camera slapping a woman polling officer. The video was televised by dozens of television channels and was viewed by millions of people.

On Monday, justices Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Salahuddin Panwhar took up Shah’s petition against the ECP’s disqualification order.

An official from the Attorney General Pakistan Karachi office appeared before the court.

The judges responded that it  was up to the deputy attorney general office to decide and arrange the law officer who would assist the court. The bench then put off further proceedings until July 25.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2012.