PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday directed an election tribunal to decide at the earliest an application seeking verification of thumb impressions of voters by Nadra in his constituency from where former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti got elected as MNA in the general elections.

A bench comprising Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Malik Manzoor pronounced a short order of accepting the petition filed by Advocate Nasir Khan, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) candidate, who had lost election to Mr Hoti with a margin of around 2700 votes in NA-9 Mardan I constituency.

The bench had reserved its order a few days ago after completion of arguments by both the parties.

The petitioner had challenged the non-acceptance of three of his applications which he had filed before the election tribunal in Peshawar during pendency of his election petition through which he has challenged the election of Mr Hoti on the ground of rigging polls through bogus polling.

Barrister Waqar Ahmad representing Mr Hoti had questioned the maintainability of the writ petition, saying under the Constitution, it was the domain of the election tribunal to decide the said applications.

He had contended that an interlocutory order of the election tribunal could not be challenged before the high court and only appeal could be field against its final order.

Barrister Waqar contended said the election tribunal could only order verification of thumb impressions if the petitioner could justify it to the presiding officer by providing evidence substantiating his request.

Meanwhile, the bench dismissed a writ petition filed by Senator Hilalur Rehman, challenging an order of the election tribunal regarding the rejection of his application for dismissing an election petition filed against him by rival candidate Munir Orakzai challenging the petitioner’s election as senator during the 2012 Senate polls.

He said under Section 36 (3) of the Senate Elections Act, it was mandatory that every election petition and annexure attached to it should be signed by the petitioner as well as properly verified, but Mr Orakzai had not put his signature on one of the pages.

Barrister Mudassir Amir appeared for Mr Orakzai and said the verification of the election petition carried the signature of petitioner on each of the pages.

Also, the bench accepted another petition filed by a losing candidate, Mohammad Bashir Khan, challenging the non-summoning of certain witnesses by the election tribunal presently hearing an election petition

filed by him against election of MNA, Sahibzada Yaqoob Khan, from NA-34 Lower Dir constituency.

Khushdil Khan, lawyer for the petitioner, said Afghan refugees had cast votes in the said constituency in large number and the summoning of some presiding officers was important.

Similarly, the bench dismissed another writ petition filed by MNA from tribal areas Ghazi Ghulab Jamal, seeking dismissal of an election petition filed by a losing candidate, Jawad Hussain, on technical grounds.