Murad Ali Shah to contest elections after giving up Canadian nationality
Bench allows Dr Nasrullah Baloch to contest only after verifying his degree from HEC.
Murad Ali Shah. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
The election bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) allowed Murad Ali Shah, former finance minister in Sindh, to contest the upcoming elections after he declared that he has given up his Canadian nationality.
A Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate, Shah will now be able to contest the elections from PS-73 Dadu. His nomination papers were rejected earlier since he possessed both Pakistani and Canadian citizenship. On Tuesday, he told the bench that he had given up his Canadian citizenship recently before he filed the nomination papers, therefore his disqualification is no longer valid.
The election appellate bench also allowed a PPP-backed candidate, Dr Nasrullah Baloch, to contest the general election on the condition that he gets his bachelor’s degree verified from the Higher Education Commission. Headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar, the three-member election appellate bench, clarified that the final decision in this regard would depend on whether or not the education commission is able to verify his degree.
Baloch, who intends to contest elections on PS-1 Sukkur, said the returning officer had rejected his nomination papers for possessing fake degree. The election tribunal also upheld this decision later.
Desert racer’s invalid degree
Renowned racer of the Thar desert safari and leader of PPP, Mir Nadir Khan Magsi, was also allowed to contest the elections from NA-206 and PS-40 seats from Qambar-Shahdadkot. Magsi explained that his degree was genuine but the university he attended in UK was a non-chartered one, which was why his nomination papers were rejected.
Setting aside the election tribunal’s decision, the bench allowed him to contest the polls, as his degree was not fake, only invalid.
Meanwhile, an independent candidate, Abdul Aziz Memon, was also allowed to contest the elections on National and Sindh assemblies’ seats, NA-249 and PS-110 respectively, from Karachi.
A former state minister of the PPP, Ali Nawaz alias Raja Khan Maher, was allowed to contest the elections on Sindh Assembly seats, PS-6 and PS-8, from Ghorki. Mir Aijaz Jakhrani of the PPP was also allowed to contest NA-208 and PS-13 from Jaccobabad. The bench dismissed a petition filed by Tariq Iqbal as he was not present in court.
On Tuesday, the bench heard a total of 11 petitions challenging the decisions of the election tribunals, which rejected the nomination papers of several candidates. The bench allowed nine of these pleas and dismissed the rest. The dismissed plea included one filed by former General Pervez Musharraf.
Even though the Election Commission of Pakistan will publish the final list of candidates today, the appellate bench will continue its hearings. In case discrepancies emerge, the judges will be empowered to disqualify the candidates mentioned on the final list.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2013.
The election bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) allowed Murad Ali Shah, former finance minister in Sindh, to contest the upcoming elections after he declared that he has given up his Canadian nationality.
A Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate, Shah will now be able to contest the elections from PS-73 Dadu. His nomination papers were rejected earlier since he possessed both Pakistani and Canadian citizenship. On Tuesday, he told the bench that he had given up his Canadian citizenship recently before he filed the nomination papers, therefore his disqualification is no longer valid.
The election appellate bench also allowed a PPP-backed candidate, Dr Nasrullah Baloch, to contest the general election on the condition that he gets his bachelor’s degree verified from the Higher Education Commission. Headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar, the three-member election appellate bench, clarified that the final decision in this regard would depend on whether or not the education commission is able to verify his degree.
Baloch, who intends to contest elections on PS-1 Sukkur, said the returning officer had rejected his nomination papers for possessing fake degree. The election tribunal also upheld this decision later.
Desert racer’s invalid degree
Renowned racer of the Thar desert safari and leader of PPP, Mir Nadir Khan Magsi, was also allowed to contest the elections from NA-206 and PS-40 seats from Qambar-Shahdadkot. Magsi explained that his degree was genuine but the university he attended in UK was a non-chartered one, which was why his nomination papers were rejected.
Setting aside the election tribunal’s decision, the bench allowed him to contest the polls, as his degree was not fake, only invalid.
Meanwhile, an independent candidate, Abdul Aziz Memon, was also allowed to contest the elections on National and Sindh assemblies’ seats, NA-249 and PS-110 respectively, from Karachi.
A former state minister of the PPP, Ali Nawaz alias Raja Khan Maher, was allowed to contest the elections on Sindh Assembly seats, PS-6 and PS-8, from Ghorki. Mir Aijaz Jakhrani of the PPP was also allowed to contest NA-208 and PS-13 from Jaccobabad. The bench dismissed a petition filed by Tariq Iqbal as he was not present in court.
On Tuesday, the bench heard a total of 11 petitions challenging the decisions of the election tribunals, which rejected the nomination papers of several candidates. The bench allowed nine of these pleas and dismissed the rest. The dismissed plea included one filed by former General Pervez Musharraf.
Even though the Election Commission of Pakistan will publish the final list of candidates today, the appellate bench will continue its hearings. In case discrepancies emerge, the judges will be empowered to disqualify the candidates mentioned on the final list.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2013.