Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Monday rejected former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar's nomination papers for the Senate election. The ECP rejected the nomination papers on the plea of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which said that Dar has failed to submit certified declaration with the nomination papers. Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz stated that it would challenge the decision of the ECP. The last day of the nomination paper's scrutiny was Monday.
The Commission stated that it had given time to Dar for filing the declaration. The returning officer rejected Ishaq Dar's nomination papers during scrutiny as the counsel for the PTI candidate objected that Dar has not submitted an authentic declaration of his assets. Dar applied for a technocrat seat from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The nomination papers of PML-N's another candidate for technocrat seat, Hafiz Abdul Karim, were also dismissed on Monday, according to the ECP.
The Commission also extended time for scrutiny of nomination papers for Senate election till Monday midnight. According to ECP, the extension was granted due to late submission of details regarding dual nationality holders by the Interior Ministry. "Despite many contacts and reminders over telephone, SMS and WhatsApp, the response of the Ministry of Interior is still awaited. It is pertinent to mention here that today is the last day of scrutiny of proposed contesting candidates for Senate Elections 2018 for Punjab, Sindh, KPK, Balochistan and ICT," the ECP stated.
The ECP maintained that non-co-operation in this regard will impede the process of scrutiny for which responsibility will lie on the Ministry of Interior. Appeals against acceptance and rejection of nominations can be filed on Thursday while the tribunals will dispose of the appeals by Saturday. The ECP received 34 nomination papers from Punjab, eight from Islamabad, 34 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 28 from Balochistan, 49 from Sindh, and nine from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
As many as 52 senators will retire next month ahead of the Senate elections on March 3. The PML-N is likely to gain an overwhelming majority in the Upper House of Parliament.
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