ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday directed three election candidates from the Allahu Akbar Tehreek (AAT) to submit copies of their computerised national identity cards (CNICs) as well as, passports following the news that their names are on the United Nations’ (UN) terror watchlist.
The case was heard by Sindh ECP member Abdul Ghaffar Soomro who was heading a three-member bench.
The three candidates — Mohammad Ashraf contesting from NA-149 Sahiwal, Zafar Iqbal from PP-113 Faisalabad, and Ehsan Ranjha from the PP-67 constituency in Mandi Bahauddin appeared before the bench. No representative from the Interior Ministry showed up at the hearing.
In addition to CNIC and passport copies, the AAT candidates have also been asked to submit written reply justifying themselves to the ECP. The candidates will still be able to contest elections on July 25. However, if the ECP decides against their eligibility, they will be denotified.
The counsel for the accused argued that the commission’s action of summoning his clients a day before the election was “unfair”. The hearing was adjourned until August 29.
The ECP had taken notice of the matter last week and issued a notice to all three candidates, ordering them to appear before the body. The notices, titled “Pakistan’s commitments under FATF and participation of MML in the general elections 2018 from the Allahu Akbar Tehreek” told the candidates that in case of their failure to appear before the ECP, the matter would be decided in their absence.
The banned Milli Muslim League (MML) — a political face of Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaatud Dawa —was denied registration by the ECP, following which the party fielded its candidates from the platform of AAT.