KARACHI: Maintainability of poll petitions challenged
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 3: Five Muttahida Qaumi Movement legislators on Monday challenged the maintainability of petitions filed against their election to the National and provincial assemblies in the absence of any affidavits by independent witnesses in support of their allegations.
In their written statements and affidavits in evidence submitted through Advocate Qazi Khalid Ali, MNAs Kunwar Khalid Yunus and Mohammad Ali Iqbal and MPAs Abdur Rauf Siddiqui, Mohammad Abbas Jaffri and Akhtar Mehdi Bilgrami said the omission to file statements of witnesses was fatal to the election petitions under section 55 of the Representation of People Act and they should be summarily dismissed on that ground alone.
They said unsubstantiated allegations of irregularities could not sustain an election petition and undo the mandate in favour of the elected candidates.
The petitions have been filed by MMA candidates Syed Munawar Hasan (NA-245), Mohammad Hashim Siddiqui (NA-256), Haleem Ghauri ((PS-117), Khwaja Sharaful Islam (PS-113) and Mustafizuddin (PS-115).
Four petitions are being heard by Justice Ghulam Rabbani and one by Justice Amir Hani Muslim.
Another election tribunal, comprising Justice Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, directed that notices to the respondents be repeated on a petition filed by MMA’s Asad Thanvi against the election of PPP’s Khurshid Shah from NA-198 (Sukkur).
Order reserved: Election Commission member Justice M. Ashraf Leghari of the Sindh High Court on Monday reserved his order on a petition filed by PPP’s Zafar Ali Shah against the candidature of National Alliance’s Arif Jatoi for the Senate.
The petitioner, who is also contesting for membership of the upper house of parliament from Sindh, submitted that Mr Jatoi was not yet a graduate because his alma mater, the University of South California, USA, would be awarding him a degree six months hence. Since he did not possess a degree, he was not a graduate at the time of filing his nomination. Yet his papers were accepted by the returning officer without demur and despite his objection.
The hearing of a petition moved by Ali Hassan Chandio against the rejection of his nomination paper for the Senate election was on Monday adjourned to Tuesday.
The petitioner says he graduated from Britain’s Trinity College and University but the returning officer rejected his nomination, holding that the institution and its degrees were not recognized by the University Grants Commission of Pakistan.
Contempt plea: A contempt petition has been filled against the minister of the interior and the SHO Landhi for harassment in violation of their firm assurance to the court.
Ms Akhlaq Jehan submitted, through Advocate Sohail Hameed, that her house in Landhi was raided by a police party after sunset on Jan 31, though it had been undertaken on behalf of the government in reply to her petition against harassment that its officials would act strictly in accordance with the law.
sentence reduced: Justice Zawwar Hussain Jaffery of the Sindh High Court reduced on Monday the jail sentence of a kidnapping convict from seven years to one year because his victim was more than 10 years old.
The boy, Mohammad Tahir, was 11 years old when he was kidnapped by Abdul Majid near his house in New Karachi. An additional sessions judge sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment.
Reducing the sentence, Justice Jaffery observed that the penal code prescribed seven years’ jail for kidnapping (without ransom) of children up to 10 years of age. The punishment for kidnappers of persons more than 10 years of age was only one year.
