Political Bigwigs Get Green Signal For Upcoming Polls

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Political bigwigs get green signal for upcoming polls

The bigwigs of major political parties are all set to contest the upcoming general election of 2018 from their respective constituencies after getting clearance from Returning Officers (ROs) in scrutiny of their nomination papers.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jun, 2018 ) :The bigwigs of major political parties are all set to contest the upcoming general election of 2018 from their respective Constituencies after getting clearance from Returning Officers (ROs) in scrutiny of their nomination papers.

The election watchdog mandated to hold free and fair election across the country has concluded the scrutiny process of nomination papers on Tuesday throughout the country.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan's nomination papers for NA-131 Lahore and NA-243 Karachi were approved after all objections against his candidacy were shunted out.

However, the PTI chief suffered a setback in NA-53 Islamabad as he failed to properly fill out the affidavit submitted along with the nomination papers.

Additionally, the nomination papers of PTI leader Aleem Khan have been approved for Lahore's NA-131 and NA-129, and his wife Kiran Aleem for PP-148.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif's nomination papers have been accepted for NA-132 Lahore, NA-249 Karachi, NA-250 Karachi and NA-3 Swat.

Moreover, PML-N's Hamza Shehbaz has been allowed to contest from NA-132, NA-124 and PP-146 constituencies of Lahore.

PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz's candidacy for PP-173 has also been approved. She was also cleared for Lahore's NA-125.

Former speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq was also cleared to contest NA-129 Lahore constituency. Former Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal has also been cleared to contest from his hometown constituency of NA-78 Narowal.

Former Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah's candidacy for NA-106 Faisalabad was also approved, while Amir Muqam will contest from for PK-4 Swat, and Abid Sher Ali will contest from NA-108 constituency in Faisalabad.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was declared eligible to contest from NA-246 Karachi. The nomination papers of former president Asif Ali Zardari for NA-213 Nawabshah have also been approved after two petitioners withdrew objections against him.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) stalwart Farooq Sattar for NA-247 and NA-241. Nomination papers of MQM-P leaders Rauf Siddiqui, Khawaja Izharul and Kamran Tessori were also approved.

Similarly, the nominations papers of Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) leader Arshad Vohra for NA-254 Karachi and NA-255 Karachi were also approved, while Hassan Saabir will also be contesting for NA-243.

Other prominent political leaders whose nomination papers were approved included Jamiat Ulema-e islam (F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for NA-38 Dera Ismail Khan, veteran politician Javed Hashmi for NA-155 Multan, and Qaumi Watan Party chairperson Aftab Sherpao for NA-23 Charsadda.

Moreover, former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza, who recently joined the Grand Democratic Alliance, will contest from PS-74 Badin. His spouse former NA speaker Dr Fahmida Mirza's nomination papers were accepted from NA-230 in Badin.

Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai's nomination papers for NA-263 Qilla Abdullah) were also approved, along with former Balochistan chief minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri for PB-38 Khuzdar.

Hafiz Hamdullah from JUI-F and former speaker of the Balochistan Assembly, Raheela Durrani, has been allowed to contest election from NA-263 while former deputy speaker of Sindh Assembly and PPP leader Shehla Raza will contest from Karachi's NA-243 constituency.

In Khairpur the nomination papers of PPP's Nafisa Shah (NA-280) and former Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah (PS-26) have been approved.

The last date for withdrawal of candidature will be June 29. The general election is scheduled to be held on July 25.The final list of the candidates will be published on June 28.

However, the candidates who could not manage to get clearance from ROs, can move to the election tribunals. As many as 20 tribunals have set up to redress the grievances of rejected candidates.