KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday granted time till May 31 to the counsel for the Pakistan Peoples’ Party leader Faryal Talpur for arguments on a petition seeking her disqualification as MNA for allegedly holding an iqama (work permit) granted by the United Arab Emirates.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar granted time on a request of Advocate Farooq H. Naek, who represented the PPP legislator, and adjourned the hearing.

The petitioner, Moazzam Abbasi, had moved the court in May last year challenging the eligibility of Ms Talpur as MNA.

In the petition, Mr Abbasi submitted through his counsel Khawaja Shams-ul-Islam that Ms Talpur, a sister of former president Asif Ali Zardari, had set up a company in the name of her daughter in Dubai in 2002, but she concealed from the Election Commission of Pakistan the details of the money transferred to Dubai.

In May, ahead of the general elections, the petitioner had accused Ms Talpur of holding a UAE iqama and not disclosing it in her nomination papers. It was argued that the concealment of facts was tantamount to the violation of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, read with Sections 99(I)(f) of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1976.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2019