An election tribunal headed by a Lahore High Court judge on Saturday allowed former finance minister Ishaq Dar to contest Senate elections. Ishaq Dar, who is currently in London undergoing medical treatment, had challenged rejection of his nomination papers for the Senate election. He was declared absconder by an accountability court in a corruption case.
Ishaq Dar through his counsel Salman Aslam said that the Returning Officer (RO) had rejected his nomination papers without thoroughly checking the facts. He said the RO was bound to conduct proper scrutiny of the nomination papers required under the Representation of Peoples Act, 1976. He asked the court to set aside the decision of RO and allow him to contest election of the Senate. The RO on February 12 had rejected nomination papers of Ishaq Dar on an objection raised by opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed. The RO rejected his papers on the basis of discrepancy found in his signatures.
Rasheed in his petition before the RO submitted that Dar had been facing corruption charges and was also declared an absconder by an anti-terrorism court. The petitioner had also questioned signature of Dar on his nomination papers. He had asked the RO to reject nomination papers of Ishaq Dar. A bar member Azhar Siddique, who had also questioned the process of scrutiny for Senate election, vowed to challenge permission allowed to Ishaq Dar to contest the upper house election. "How an absconder can contest Senate Elections?," asked Azhar Siddique.