HARIPUR, July 26: The district returning officer on Tuesday declared valid nomination papers of a panel of candidates for nazim and naib nazim and dismissed appeals against some of the candidates filed by their opponents on Monday.

The papers of nine panels of candidates for nazims and naib nazims, 30 for general councillors, 19 for men and 10 for women peasants and workers, 14 for Muslim general women and one for minority councillor’s seat had been rejected.

All the disqualified candidates and those who had objected to the acceptance of papers of their opponents by the returning officers had appealed before the district returning officer, District and Sessions Judge Syed Afsar Shah.

After hearing the parties, the DRO declared valid the nomination papers of Babar Nawaz Khan Tareen/Ghulam Jan panel for nazim and naib nazim of Pandik union council.

The papers of the panel had been rejected on objection of rival candidates for concealing assets.

An appeal filed against acceptance of papers of Wasim Azhar Turabi/Liaqat panel for Central Haripur union council was rejected.

The panel of Zulfiqar Qureshi, backed by the People’s Party Parliamentarians had requested disqualification of the panel on charges that Mr Turabi was an office-bearer of the banned Tehrik-i-Jafaria Pakistan. The applicant had attached a letter of Novermber 2003 by the provincial home and tribal affairs department, which carried the names of Mr Turabi and NWFP Chief Minister’s Adviser Ramzan Tauqir under Schedule 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.

The defendant’s counsel, Saeed Akhtar Khan advocate, produced an affidavit and a letter written to the provincial home secretary by Mr Turabi, saying that he had no connection with the group and his being a law-abiding citizen could be verified by Minister of State Omer Ayub Khan, who was the MNA form the area.

According to a letter of July 21 presented by the counsel, the interior ministry had asked the home secretary to delete the candidate’s name from the list.

An objection against Maulana Matiur Rehman Qasmi, candidate for Mankraye union council nazim, by a voter over his allegedly being an office-bearer of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba was rejected.