LHC Rejects Disqualification Petition Against Aleem Khan

The petitioner had pleaded that Aleem Khan had failed to disclose details of his properties

Lahore (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 23rd January, 2018) The Lahore High Court (LHC) has rejected the disqualification petition against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Minister Abdul Aleem Khan.

An election tribunal of the LHC had on Monday reserved its verdict on a petition seeking disqualification of Senior Provincial Minister Abdul Aleem Khan.

The tribunal comprising Justice Ch Muhammad Iqbal reserved the verdict on a petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate from PP-158, Rana Ahsan Sharafat, after hearing detailed arguments of the parties.

The petitioner had pleaded that Aleem Khan had failed to disclose details of his properties, tax particulars and inquiries pending against him in his nomination papers.

He alleged that the minister was a defaulter of Rs 9.3 million in terms of the Employees Old-Age Benefit (EOBI) funds.

He said the inquiries had been pending against Mr Khan before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) but he had not disclosed them in his nomination papers.

The petitioner further accused the respondent of grabbing hundreds of acres of the state and private land. He asked the court to declare him disqualified for holding a public office under Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

Aleem Khan's counsel denied the charges, saying his client had disclosed complete details of his assets, properties and tax returns in the nomination papers. He argued that the respondent had concealed no facts which could entail disqualification.

The counsel said the petition against his client was politically motivated and liable to be dismissed.