KARACHI, July 10: A Sindh High Court election tribunal dismissed with costs two petitions challenging the return of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s candidates from two National and Sindh assembly seats in Karachi.
The petitions were moved by Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal candidates Mohammad Hashim Siddiqui and Haleem Khan Ghauri against the election of the MQM’s Iqbal Mohammad Ali Khan and Mohammad Abbas Jafri from NA-256 (Karachi-XVIII) and PS-119 (Karachi-XXXI), respectively.
In his orders dismissing the two petitions, Justice Ghulam Rabbani observed that the petitioners had levelled vague allegations of corrupt and illegal practices, rigging, bogus voting and other irregularities without substantiating them. They failed to furnish full particulars of the irregularities. No election official was examined. No record was sought to be summoned nor any material produced in evidence. No public representative could be unseated on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations.
The tribunal observed that in election matters, burden to prove irregularities lay heavily on the petitioner. The allegations must be proved ‘with such standard as is required for proving a charge in a criminal trial’. The petitions were hit by Section 55 (1) (a) and (b) of the representation of the People Act, 1976. They merited no consideration and the petitioners should pay costs to the respondent MNA and MPA.
BAIL GRANTED: The Sindh High Court granted bail to former federal secretary Javed Burki and co-accused Muzammil Niazi on Thursday in the sum of Rs10 million each with personal bonds in the like amount.
The bail order, announced by a division bench comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Azizullah M. Memon, was based on the opinion rendered by Justice Shabbir Ahmed as referee judge on Wednesday. A division bench had earlier returned a split verdict in the matter.
The accused are facing trial before an accountability court for allegedly depriving the public exchequer of Rs1.76 billion in a truck manufacturing deal.
