HYDERABAD: Pakistan People’s Party’s Syed Murad Ali Shah was declared an unopposed winner in the PS-73 Jamshoro by-polls by the Returning Officer (RO) after his rival withdraw his election appeal before a tribunal challenging acceptance of his nomination form.

The tribunal comprised two sitting high court judges Mr Justice Abdul Rasool Memon and Mr Justice Salahuddin Panwhar at Sindh High Court’s Hyderabad circuit bench where Shah appeared along with his counsel and former senator Farooq Hameed Naek.

Sindh Untied Party (SUP) vice president Roshan Ali Buriro had challenged Shah’s acceptance form in the light of Article 62 and 63, arguing that the PPP candidate did not meet the criteria laid down in two articles for a person to become a member of provincial or national assembly.

However, on Monday, he did not press the petition following a Sunday meeting between PPP’s Shah and Jalal Mehmood Shah, president of SUP.

“It was purely a family level engagement with Jalal Shah as we are close relatives. It was an unconditional withdrawal of SUP’s candidate on the part of Jalal Shah,” the former finance minister told Dawn.Com outside the court.

Syed Murad Ali Shah addressing the media outside the court.- Photo by author

Another candidate Mohammad Qasim Bozdar also withdrew his election appeal challenging rejection of Shah’s nomination form while another candidate, Nisar Lund’s appeal against rejection of Shah’s candidature by RO was dismissed by tribunal which upheld the findings of RO.

Buriro and Bozdar submitted their withdrawal on Monday. Habibullah Rind, an otherwise potential candidate, had already submitted his withdrawal before RO on Saturday.

According to staff member of District Election Commissioner (DEC) Jamshoro, a notice has been displayed in the office declaring Shah as a returned candidate uncontested. However, it is yet to be officially notified by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Murad Shah has been returning to Sindh Assembly from this seat since 2002 polls when this constituency was first created, bagging 36,466 votes.