Lahore High Court (LHC) Allows Shahid Khaqan Abbasi To Contest Election From NA-57

Umer Jamshaid Published June 29, 2018 | 05:07 PM

A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Friday suspended appellate tribunal verdict of rejecting nomination papers of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi from NA-57 (Murree) and allowed him to contest election

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Jun, 2018 ) :A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Friday suspended appellate tribunal verdict of rejecting nomination papers of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi from NA-57 (Murree) and allowed him to contest election.

The bench, headed by Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, passed the interim orders on a writ petition filed by former premier challenging the tribunal verdict.

During the proceedings, Khaqan's counsel Khawaja Tariq Raheem questioned the appellate tribunal verdict, saying that it was against facts.

He said the tribunal rejected the nomination papers on the grounds that the petitioner did not provide details and current value of his assets despite the fact that he had provided cost of the assets. He contended that the petitioner was not bound to provide the current value of assets as per rules, he added.

He submitted that the tribunal went beyond his jurisdiction and not only declared his client ineligible but also disqualified him under Article 62(1)(f) of the constitution.

He pleaded with the bench to set aside the tribunal verdict and allow the petitioner to contest election. He also requested the bench to suspend the verdict till final decision of the petition.

At this, the bench suspended the verdict of the tribunal and allowed Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to contest the election. The bench also sought reply from Election Commission and others till July 2.

It is pertinent to mention here that appellate tribunal, headed by Justice Ibad-ur-Rehman Lodhi, at the Rawalpindi bench of LHC rejected the nomination papers of the former premier on Wednesday after Muhammad Umar and Masood Ahmad, candidates from the same constituency, challenged the acceptance of his nomination.