SC dismisses plea seeking Sindh CM's disqualification

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Wednesday rejected a plea seeking disqualification of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah as the petitioner had failed to approach the relevant forum during trail of the case.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Yahya Afridi, heard the petition filed by Roshan Ali Buriro of the Sindh United Party demanding that Murad Ali Shah be disqualified on account of his dual nationality.

Justice Ata Bandial also ruled that the prima facie grounds for disqualification were not clear in this case and not maintainable to hear the case.

He also observed that the Sindh chief minister had renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2013, therefore, he could not be disqualified on those grounds. The petitioner's intent was also questionable as he was a political opponent of Shah, he added.

Justice Muneeb asked as to why the petitioner had not challenged the returning officer's verdict in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which was the relevant legal forum, and instead approached the high court.

Everyone kept filing appeals for disqualification of office-bearers in high courts or the Supreme Court, he observed.

The petitioner had earlier filed a similar appeal with a returning officer that had been turned down. He had then approached the Sindh High Court which also dismissed his version and finally Buriro approached the top court.