Judgment deferred in Chief Minister disqualification case

The petitioner had claimed the caretaker govt had facilitated CM Shah's election

KARACHI: The election tribunal on Thursday issued show-cause notices to the parties to explain whether material should be sought from the election commission regarding officers' transfers and postings by the caretaker government to facilitate Qaim Ali Shah's election on the provincial assembly seat PS-29, from district Khairpur.

Headed by former SHC judge, Zafar Ahmed Khan Sherwani, the tribunal has asked the parties to make their arguments on this point on December 13.



Syed Qaim Ali Shah had won last year's general elections on PS-29, defeating his rival, Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz candidate, Syed Ghous Ali Shah. The latter had accused the returned candidate of rigging the polls and challenged the results before the tribunal.

The tribunal had earlier fixed December 13 for the announcement of its order reserved on the election plea after hearing arguments from both sides. Deferring the verdict announcement, the bench has issued show-cause notices to the parties for December 13 for hearing on the question of politically-motivated transfers and postings in the constituency.

In his order, Sherwani observed that one of the allegations leveled by the petitioner was that the appointment of the caretaker chief minister was on account of his personal friendship with the returned candidate and the caretaker CM had assisted the PPP candidate and had transferred as many as six senior police superintendents in district Khairpur during his tenure of 60 days.

The tribunal said such issue had also been framed with the consent of the parties' counsel both of whom had reiterated these allegations during their recording of evidence but no such complaint in this regard was on record.

The tribunal noted notifications issued by the election commission on March 26, 2013 and April 2, 2013 relating to the ban on the postings and transfers and another notification which showed that the ECP had received a number of complaints with respect to Sindh province that postings and transfers were being made on political pressures.

Before any order is passed on the subject, both the parties may be provided an opportunity to be heard as to why the secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan may not be to produce all the complaints received by the Commission in respect of district Khairpur, with regard to postings and transfers of the officers on political pressure by the caretaker government of Sindh, ruled Sherwani.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2014.