June 21, 2006	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 24, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

PESHAWAR, June 20: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday ruled in favour of People’s Party Parliamentarian leader Ahmad Hassan Khan, enabling him to become Lower Dir district nazim.

A two-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Tariq Pervez Khan and Justice Qaim Jan Khan, accepted a petition filed by Mr Hassan and dismissed a petition filed by his rival candidate Mohammad Rasool, who had the support of the Jamaat-i-Islami.

During last year’s local body polls, the returning officer in Lower Dir had declared a tie between the two candidates who had secured 198 votes each.

The returning officer had announced the holding of a draw between them by the toss of a coin in accordance with Rule 37 of the NWFP Local Government Elections Rules 2005.

But both the candidates had challenged the decision of toss and requested the high court to declare them the nazim.

Mr Rasool had challenged two votes counted in favour of Mr Hassan, whereas Mr Hassan had challenged one of the votes cast in his favour but not counted.

Advocate Aamir Jawed appeared for Mr Hassan and contended that one of the controversial votes was declared invalid on the ground that it carried double stamp, one before the name of Mr Hassan and second one in the space meant for stamp.

Referring to a judgment of the Supreme Court, he argued that under Rule 35 of the elections rules, a vote should be considered invalid if there was any other mark on the ballot paper except the stamp put in the space meant for it.

He added that the stamp could not be considered as any other mark, thus the returning officer had erred in declaring the vote invalid.

TOSS STAYED: The PHC on Tuesday stayed the toss scheduled for June 21 for electing district nazim of Upper Dir.

A two-member bench was hearing two petitions filed by incumbent nazim Sahibzada Tariqullah, backed by the JI, and the rival candidate, Najmudddin Khan, supported by the PPP.