LAHORE: An election tribunal of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the victory of Prime Minister Imran Khan from NA-95 Mianwali, after declaring it non-maintainable.
The tribunal, comprising Justice Shahid Waheed had earlier reserved its verdict on maintainability of the election petition filed by Abdul Wahab of Pakistan Justice and Democratic Party, a defeated candidate of the same constituency.
During the course of proceedings, the petitioner’s counsel had submitted that the prime minister concealed mandatory details in his nomination papers and so could not be allowed to hold a public office as a member of the parliament under Article 62(1)(d),(e) & (f) and Article 63(1)(f),(p) & (o) of the constitution.
He had requested to direct the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to de-notify Khan as an MNA from the constituency and declare the seat vacant.
However, Advocate Babar Awan, on behalf of the premier, had questioned the maintainability of the election petition saying that legal requirements had not been fulfilled. He had submitted that the petition was filed after the time limit whereas it was certified by an oath commissioner of Islamabad instead of Lahore.
“How can the petitioner file an election petition in the LHC when he is a resident of Karachi?” Awan had questioned and claimed that a false affidavit had been annexed with the petition.
Submitting that his client provided all the required information in the nomination papers, he had pleaded with the court to dismiss the petition.
