KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday declared Palwasha Khan, a candidate of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), eligible to contest the Senate election from Sindh by rejecting the plea against her candidature.
The SHC bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, inquired about the objections regarding the acceptance of Palwasha Khan’s nomination papers and asked the petitioner to satisfy the court. The court questioned any illegality over the transfer of vote from Punjab to Sindh when the petitioner submitted that this was transferred illegally.
The bench also questioned about the violation of election rules in transferring of vote and said that the court has limited powers viz-a-viz elections.
“We are not appellate tribunal,” Justice Mazhar remarked.
Advocate Aqib Rajpar said that Palwasha Khan declared her assets in Punjab. Farooq H. Naek, counsel for Palwasha Khan, submitted that the returning officer and the Election Tribunal had already rejected these objections while accepting the nomination papers of his client. The Election Commission attorney told the court that the returning officer accepted the nomination papers in accordance with the relevant laws.
After hearing the arguments, the court dismissed the plea against the acceptance of nomination papers of Palwasha Khan and declared her eligible to contest the election of Senate slated for March 3, 2021. Meanwhile, hearing of a plea against the acceptance of Faisal Vawda’s nomination papers was adjourned after petitioner Qadir Khan Mandokhel didn’t turn up in the court.
Mandokhel challenged the decision of the returning officer and the Election Tribunal to accept the nomination papers of Vawda for Senate elections on the grounds that he concealed his dual nationality while contesting the election for a National Assembly seat in 2018.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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