QUETTA: As many as 45 candidates filed appeals against the rejection of their nomination papers in the Balochistan election tribunal, presided over by Justice Hashim Khan Kakar and Justice Aamir Nawaz Rana of the Balochistan High Court, on Monday.

Justice Kakar will review appeals of the candidates for National Assembly seats, while Justice Rana will handle applications contesting the rejection of nomination papers for the Balochistan Assembly seats.

Notably, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, president of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), and other party candidates did not file appeals on Monday. The rejection of nomination papers affected 92 candidates competing for 16 NA seats and 386 candidates for 51 Balochistan PA seats across the province.

Those who have filed appeals against the verdict of the returning officers on their nomination papers include Malik Naseer Ahmed Shahwani, Ahmed Nawaz Baloch, Ghulam Nabi Marri of the BNP-M, Tahir Mehmood Khan of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Mir Zafarullah Zehri and Mufti Gulab of JUI-F, Abdul Khaliq Hazara from Hazara Democratic Party, Abdul Qahar Wadan, provincial president of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Nasarullah Zerey of Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party and Aslam Rind, Sadiq Noorzai and Hazrat Khan Achakzai (independent candidates).

Akhtar Mengal, along with several candidates for national and provincial assemblies’ seats, refrained from submitting the appeal to the tribunal on the first day. The decision follows the rejection of their nomination papers by returning officers following scrutiny.

Sajid Tareen, a senior lawyer and BNP’s senior vice president, stated that Sardar Mengal and the other candidates had not yet received the official copies of the orders issued by the returning officers who rejected their nomination papers.

“Sardar Akhtar Mengal and the party’s other candidates are likely to file their appeals on Tuesday in the election appellate tribunal,” Mr Tareen told Dawn.

The Balochistan election tribunal will accept appeals challenging the rejection of candidates’ nomination papers until January 3 and is expected to deliver its decisions by January 9.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2024