QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court (BHC) has disqualified Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind, provincial president of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), and Balochistan PPP chief Ali Madad Jattak from taking part in the coming elections.

A division bench of the BHC comprising Justice Nae­em Akhtar Afghan and Jus­tice Nazeer Ahmed Langove announced the judgement on Tuesday, which it had reserved on Saturday after hearing the cases of the two leaders.

After the returning officers and the Appellate Tribunal had rejected nomination papers of Mr Rind and Mr Jattak, they had filed petitions against the decisions of the Appellate Tribunal in the BHC.

Allows Akbar Bugti’s grandson, NP, PkMAP candidates to take part in elections

Mr Rind had filed nomination papers from the National Assembly constituency of Kachhi-Jhal Magsi and three constituencies of Balo­ch­istan Assembly. Mr Jattak had filed nomination papers from the provincial assembly constituency PB-30-Quetta.

The BHC bench also barred Mir Faiq Ali Khan Jamali, a leader of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), from taking part in the election for a provincial assembly seat from Nasirabad.

The court issued the order on the petition filed by Mr Jamali’s rival candidate challenging acc­ep­tance of his nomination pap­ers by the Appellate Tribunal.

However, the court rejected the petition of former home minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti against Nawab Aali Bugti, the grandson of Nawab Akbar Bugti, and allowed him to contest the election. Aali Bugti has filed his nomination papers for contesting election from Dera Bugti as an independent candidate.

Ali Madad Jattak had filed an appeal against the rejection of his nomination papers by the Appellate Tribunal. Mr Jattak said that he would file a petition against the high court’s decision to declare him illegible for contesting election in the Supreme Court.

Aali Bugti was disqualified by the Appellate Tribunal last week when his opponent Sarfaraz Bugti had challenged his nomination papers by alleging that Aali Bugti had not disclosed his assets while filing his nomination papers. Aali Bugti appeared before the court along with his lawyers Behlol Kasi and Nusrat Baloch.

The court also allowed the National Party’s Nizamuddin to contest the election and rejected the petition filed by Zamarak Acha­k­zai of the Awami National Party against acceptance of nom­i­nation papers of Pakhtun­khwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) candidate Abdul Qahar Wadan for the National Assembly seat from the Gulistan-Qila Saifullah constituency.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2018