PESHAWAR: An election tribunal on Monday directed Nadra to conduct verification of thumb impression of all the votes cast in provincial assembly constituency of PK-8 before July 24.

The tribunal presided over by Shahjee Rehman Khan, had, a few days ago, accepted an application of a losing candidate belonging to Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F, Asif Iqbal Daudzai, requesting for verification of thumb impressions of the votes cast in the said constituency during the May 2013 general elections. He had field an election petition before the tribunal challenging the election of Pakistan Muslim league-N candidate, Arbab Akber Hayat, accusing him of casting bogus votes and rigging in the polls.

The tribunal had directed the petitioner to deposit the required fee of Rs10 per vote. An official informed that the petitioner had deposited Rs578,600 for verification of around 57,860 votes. The tribunal directed the Nadra to carry out verification of thumb impression and submit the report till July 24.

During the general elections, Arbab Akber Hayat had secured 13,528 votes against 10,458 votes received by the petitioner.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2014