KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: The Sindh Elections Appellate Tribunal on Saturday rejected a petition against the acceptance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s nomination papers, clearing him to contest the election from Karachi’s NA-243, while an appellate tribunal in Punjab has issued notices to the ECP and other parties over Khan’s petition against the verdict of returning officer in Mianwali’s NA-95 constituency.
The appeal in Sindh had been filed by a candidate from former chief justice Chaudhry Iftikhar’s Pakistan Justice and Democratic Party (PJDP).
The appeal had pointed to Khan’s alleged failure to disclose the sponsors of his foreign trips and information on who bears the expenditure of his children as well as his failure to mention his alleged daughter from Sita White in the nomination papers.
While Khan will be able to contest the election on the Karachi seat — which comprises Gulshan-i-Iqbal and parts of Jamshed Quarters — his appeals against the rejection of nomination papers from NA-95 (Mianwali) and NA-53 (Islamabad) are still pending with the Punjab and Islamabad election tribunals.
Other than these seats, the PTI chief is also in the run for NA-35 (Bannu) and NA-131 (Lahore). Khan announced on Friday that he would formally begin his election campaign from Mianwali, from where he was elected in 2002.
The tribunal also issued notices on appeals against the rejection of papers of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) Farooq Sattar and the acceptance of former chief minister Murad Ali Shah’s nomination papers.
The Punjab Elections Appellate Tribunal, meanwhile, took up Khan’s plea against the rejection of his nomination papers from NA-95.
The plea maintains that RO rejected the papers against facts therefore; his verdict should be annulled. The further proceedings of the case will be held on June 25.
On Friday, the appellate tribunal issued notices to ECP and RO following Khan’s plea challenging the rejection of his nomination papers from Islamabad’s NA-53 constituency.