GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court on Monday disqualified Mir Saleem Khan, a PML-N member of the GB Legislative Assembly from Hunza. 

The court ordered the GB Election Commission to de-seat Saleem Khan and announce by-election on the constituency within two weeks.

The decision was announced by Chief Judge Rana Shamim in a suo motu notice regarding qualification of Mir Saleem as member of the GBLA.

Mir Saleem, son of incumbent GB Governor Mir Gazanfar Ali Khan, was elected from Hunza in August 2016 by-election. The seat had fallen vacant after his father became GB governor.

In 2016, when Mir Saleem submitted his nomination papers, his opponent candidate retired Colonel Ubaid had filed a petition against him in the two-member election tribunal seeking his disqualification to contest the Hunza by-elections on grounds that he was defaulter of National Bank of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2018