LAHORE: A petition has been filed before the Lahore High Court seeking the disqualification of PML-N MNA Rana Sanaullah for alleged false declaration of assets in his nomination papers.

Petitioner Nadeem Sarwar, a lawyer, states that the MNA committed concealment of assets before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the false declaration submitted by him falls within the disqualification under Article 62 (1) (f) of the Constitution.

He states that the law is settled that a person who offers himself for election to the seat of the parliament or a provincial assembly is required to fulfill the qualifications as laid down under Article 62.

He pleads that a writ of quo warranto needs to be issued calling upon the respondent to show under what authority of law he claims to hold the office of the member of the National Assembly. Mr Khan was elected to the NA from NA-106, Faisalabad in the general election of 2018.

EXPLANATION:Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan has sought explanations from 31 judicial officers who were found absent or late from duties.

The chief justice conducted an inspection of the district courts of Lahore through an online system installed in the Directorate of District Judiciary and found 31 judicial officers absent or late comers, said a statement issued on Monday.

Of them, four additional district and sessions judges and six civil judges were found late while nine additional district and sessions judges and 12 civil judges remained absent the whole day without intimation or prior permission. Chief Justice Khan directed the Lahore district and sessions judge to gather explanations from the delinquent judicial officers and send to LHC within three days.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2021