LARKANA: The Larkana division bench of the Sindh High Court comprising Justice Irshad Ali Shah and Justice Abdul Rasheed Soomro on Tuesday fixed PPP leader Nisar Khuhro’s appeal against rejection of his nomination papers for July 5.

The returning officer of Larkana had rejected Khuhro’s papers for PS-11 seat after which he filed an appeal in the appellate tribunal at Sukkur but it also upheld the decision.

Khuhro then moved the high court through his lawyers Farooq H. Naek and Inyatullah Morio.

The lawyers appeared before the bench and prayed for speedy proceedings citing urgency as the time for the printing of ballot papers was short.

Khuhro’s rival candidate on the seat, Moazzim Abbasi of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), prayed for granting 10 days’ time to engage a lawyer.

The bench fixed the matter for July 5.

Khuhro’ daughter, Nida Khuhro, who had filed her nomination papers as his covering candidate, is running the party’s election campaign for the seat. Nisar Khuhro and Jameel Soomro, the political secretary of party chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday started a door-to-door campaign for the latter’s seat, NA-200 Larkana-I, and Nida Khuhro’s seat, PS-11 Larkana-II.

Along with party workers, they visited Pakistan Chowk, Royal Chowk and Jinnahbagh Road. They met shopkeepers and requested for support to PPP candidates. People raised slogans and showered rose petals on them, said PPP Larkana city information secretary Shakeel Memon.

Later addressing a corner meeting in union committee-15, Mr Khuhro said that just ahead of the elections, fissures had started appearing in the Grand Democratic Alliance as, according to him, they (leaders of GDA) were cornering each other to capture the top slot. Predicting a “drop scene” of the GDA soon, he said the GDA leaders believed in reaching the power corridors through “back-door”, but their dream would not come true.

He said the PPP would form government not only in Sindh, but in the centre too. He blamed the PPP’s opponents for blocking the ongoing development work, as a part of old schemes, in different union committees.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2018