By Imtiaz Hussain Abro.
Returning officers reject nomination papers of Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Hammad Azhar, Yasmin Rashid, Parvez Elahi, Moonis Elahi besides others n ROs in Multan accept nominations of Javed Hashmi, Jahangir Khan Tareen, Aamir Dogar n Verdict reserved regarding Sh Rashid’s nomination papers from NA-56 n Shoaib Shaheen says PTI will surely file appeals against rejection of nomination papers.
The nomination papers of Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were rejected for the National Assembly constituency NA-122 (Lahore) on Saturday. The returning officer rejected the nomination papers while acknowledging the objections raised against them.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate and former MPA Mian Naseer contested the nomination papers of PTI founder in NA-122, citing Imran Khan’s ineligibility due to a prior conviction. He argued that the seconder of Imran Khan did not belong to the constituency. The returning officer had reserved the decision on Imran Khan’s nomination papers after hearing arguments from both sides on Thursday. The returning officer contended that the court’s verdict in Imran’s conviction established its relevance to the offense, making him subject to Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution.
It is worth mentioning that the nomination papers of Khurram Latif Khosa were also rejected from the NA-122 constituency.
The scrutiny of the nomination papers filed by candidates for the general elections in 2024 concluded on Saturday. Appeals against the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers can be submitted until Wednesday, with decisions on these appeals scheduled for the tenth of the next month. The preliminary list of candidates will be displayed on the eleventh of January, and candidates can withdraw their nomination papers by January 12. The allocation of electoral symbols will take place on the thirteenth of next month, and the polling for the general elections will be held on February 8.
Returning officers rejected the nomination papers of several PTI leaders, including party founder Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Hammad Azhar, Yasmin Rashid, former speaker Punjab Assembly Sibtain Khan, Usman Dar’s mother, and others. The reasons for rejection varied, encompassing issues such as non-compliance with constituency requirements and objections raised by opposing candidates.
On the flip side, the nomination papers of Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, and Bilawal Bhutto were accepted for their candidacy forms filed in Lahore. Nawaz Sharif’s nomination was approved for NA-130 Lahore. PML-N chief organizer Maryam Nawaz also succeeded, with her nomination papers accepted from all constituencies in Lahore and Sargodha. Maryam Nawaz submitted papers for the Punjab Assembly from three constituencies in Lahore and one in Sargodha. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s papers were rejected from two national assembly constituencies in Punjab – NA-122 Lahore and NA-89 Mianwali.
In response to the rejection, PTI legal experts announced that Imran Khan would file an appeal in the tribunal seeking nomination approval. Additionally, PTI’s Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi also faced rejection, as his nomination papers were rejected for NA-151 Multan and NA-214 Tharparkar. The nomination papers of Zain Qureshi and Mehrbano Qureshi were also rejected from NA-150 and NA-151, respectively. However, papers of other prominent political figures from Multan like Javed Hashmi, Jahangir Tareen, and Aamir Dogar were approved in different constituencies.
PML-N’s leader and former federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafique’s nomination papers were accepted for NA-122 Lahore, along with former Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq, who also secured approval for his nomination papers from NA-117 in Lahore. PTI’s central Punjab’s Secretary General Sardar Azeem Ullah also secured successful approval for his nomination for the National Assembly constituency NA-124 and for two Punjab assembly seats PP-159 and PP-163. Haider Ali Khan Kharal’s nomination papers were also approved for NA-94 Kamalia. Ali Abid Kathia from Sahiwal also got his nomination forms approved for PP-201. Apart from that, Abrarul Haq, the prominent singer, and PTI’s Akmal Khan Bari both secured successful approval of their nomination papers for NA-117 Lahore.
With PTI candidates experiencing a higher rate of nomination paper rejections by the country’s election regulator during the scrutiny process, the party plans to challenge these decisions in the appropriate legal forums in the coming days.
Over 28,000 nomination papers, with the association of political parties and independents, were submitted to the election commission. Many candidates’ nomination papers were rejected throughout the country due to various objections. The electoral watchdog has issued the list of candidates whose nominations were rejected or accepted in all its concerning offices.
The nomination papers of PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his son Zainuddin Qureshi were rejected due to non-appearance in various cases. PTI main leader Parvez Elahi’s and Moonis Elahi’s nomination papers were rejected from their constituencies with some objections. Similarly, former parliamentarians Asad Qaiser, Ali Muhammad Khan, Hammad Azhar, mother and wife of Usman Dar, Zartaj Gul, Qasim Suri, Amin Ali Gandapur, Murad Saeed, Abdul Majeed Khan Niazi, Malik Umar Aslam Awan, Malik Hasan Aslam, Khuram Latif, Haleem Adil, Sardar Hasnain Bahadur Khan Dreshak, Zulfi Bukhari, Azam Swati, Sahibzada Sibghatullah, Dr. Amjad Khan, Fazal Hakim Khan, Mian Sharafat, Salim-ur-Rahman, and others were also not accepted, according to sources. The final list of candidates throughout the country by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will be formally shared on January 11, 2024.
The verdict regarding the nomination papers of Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid from NA-56 has been reserved. The scrutiny was held again against Rashid’s nomination papers in NA-56. The verdict had been reserved after the completion of the hearing. The scrutiny period for candidates appearing in the 2024 general elections has concluded, resulting in the rejection of the nomination papers of a large number of candidates with affiliations.
Former Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan [ECP] Kanwar Dilshad, when contacted, stated that although nomination papers are rejected, there is still a proper forum to file appeals against the decisions of the returning officers. He mentioned that a large number of nomination papers were historically rejected, including those of former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, with some objections. Dilshad emphasized that many candidates’ nomination papers were later accepted by the concerned tribunal after filing appeals.
PTI legal counsel Shoaib Shaheen stated that the ECP has been targeting only the candidates of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf [PTI]. He claimed that a large number of nomination papers by candidates affiliated with PTI have been rejected with different objections. Shaheen stated that they would appeal against the rejection of genuine nomination papers, arguing that objections against PTI’s candidates were mostly entertained by the returning officers. He expressed the party’s commitment to fighting against what they perceive as political victimization.
Political and constitutional experts viewed that nomination papers in the past were also rejected over questions raised by the returning officers. They anticipated that most of the nomination papers are likely to be accepted in the tribunal.
Meanwhile, the nomination papers of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of Pakistan
, were rejected for the National Assembly constituency){kind=link}