PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Friday set aside the disqualification of Khyber Agency MNA Nasir Khan Afridi by an election tribunal and restored his membership of the National Assembly.
The development came as Justice Roohul Amin Khan Chamkani and Justice Syed Afsar Shah accepted an election appeal of Nasir Khan Afridi against the election tribunal’s Mar 25, 2014, decision to disqualify him and direct the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold re-election in his constituency, NA-46.
The tribunal had accepted an election petition filed by former federal minister and losing candidate in the 2013 general elections, Hamidullah Jan Afridi, who had sought disqualification of Nasir Khan on multiple grounds.
However, it had dismissed an election petition of PTI candidate Iqbal Afridi for the vote recount in the constituency.
Mr. Nasir was declared winner by the returning officer for receiving 4,135 votes against 3,579 and 3,342 votes secured by Mr. Iqbal and Mr. Hamidullah respectively.
Samad Khan, lawyer for petitioner Nasir Khan, said the rival candidate had levelled baseless allegations against his client, including that of bogus polling, rigging and asset concealment in nomination papers.
Nasir Afridi was unseated by election tribunal in 2014 over bogus polling, rigging, asset concealment
He said those allegations could not be proved before the tribunal but despite that, the tribunal had decided the petition against his client.
The lawyer said on the day of polling i.e. May 11, 2013, voting was stopped at different polling stations due to clashes between supporters of different candidates and that re-polling was held in 21 polling stations on June 5, 2013.
He added that the re-polling had taken place in a transparent manner where no incident of rigging was reported.
The lawyer for the respondent (Hamidullah Jan) said the petitioner had not mentioned several of his properties in the nomination.
He said concealment of properties was a misstatement, which amounted to corrupt practices under Section 78 of the Representation of Peoples Act 1976.
The lawyer said the election officers concerned had acted in collusion with the petitioner and he was provided the voters lists several days before the elections whereas the petitioner was provided the same only a day before the May 11, 2013 general elections.
BAIL GRANTED: A single-member bench of the Peshawar High Court on Friday granted bail to a person and his son arrested by the local police in connection with the killing of a prominent trader leader, Haji Haleem Jan.
Justice Nisar Hussain observed that the two petitioners including Shabir Khan and son Haseeb deserved to be extended the concession of bail.
Imtiaz Ali, lawyer for the petitioners, said Haji Haleen Jan was killed by unidentified gunman in the jurisdiction of the Khan Raziq Shaheed Kabuli police station on Feb 9, 2016.
He said the son of the deceased, Ahtesham Haleem, had formally told police that members of a banned militant organisation, including Qari Zubair and Mullah Thander, were demanding the Rs30 million ransom that they declined to pay.
The lawyer said after seven months of the occurrence the complainant had now charged the petitioners who were their close relatives and were having a property dispute with them.
He added that while the complainant claimed that an unidentified gunman had fired at the deceased, he could have named the petitioners at that time as they were their relatives and were not unknown to the complainant.
Published in Dawn October 22nd, 2016
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