PESHAWAR/MANSEHRA: Five election appellate tribunals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday began hearing into a total of 329 appeals filed against the decisions of returning officers to reject or accept nomination papers for the Feb 8 general elections across the province.

The appellants included some key leaders of the former ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

The tribunals will decide appeals by Jan 10 after holding hearings on Jan 6 and 7.

In Peshawar, a tribunal headed by Justice Shakeel Ahmad issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan, the relevant returning officers and candidates over 171 appeals filed regarding nominations for Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Kohat, Mohmand, Kurram and Khyber districts.

Noted among appellants from the PTI, whose papers were rejected, were former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, former federal ministers Sheharyar Afridi and Ali Mohammad Khan, central leader Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, former MNAs Mujahid Ali, Sher Ali Arbab, Shandana Gulzar and Sajid Nawaz, former provincial ministers Atif Khan, Taimoor Saleem Jhagra and Shehram Khan Tarakai, former deputy speaker of the KP Assembly Mahmood Jan, and former MPAs Zahir Shah Toru, Tufail Anjum, Amir Farzand, Iftikhar Ali Mashwani and Khaliqur Rehman.

Most appellants belong to PTI

In Mingora, the election tribunal led by Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar began hearing 86 appeals against the decisions of returning officers.

Most appellants belong to the PTI. Prominent among them are former MNAs Junaid Akbar, Gul Dad Khan, Sahibzada Sibghatullah, Gul Zafar Khan and Saleemur Rehman and former MPAs Anwer Zeb Khan, Shakeel Ahmad, Ajmal Khan, Azizullah Khan, Fazal Hakeem, Amjid Ali, Sharafat Ali and Shaukat Ali Yousafzai.

The appellants also include former MPA of Peoples Party-Parliamentarians Sahibzada Sanaullah.

The Abbottabad tribunal headed by Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel also started hearing 25 appeals, including two filed by PTI Senator Azam Swati.

One of his appeals is against the acceptance of nomination papers of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for NA-15 Mansehra, whereas the other has challenged the rejection of his own nomination for election in the same constituency.

Prominent appellants included PTI leader and former federal minister Umer Ayub Khan and former MNA of the PML-N Babar Nawaz Khan. Both of whom challenged the acceptance of nomination papers of each other.

Speaker of the KP Assembly Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani also filed an appeal there against the rejection of his election papers.

Justice Mohammad Faheem Wali of the Dera Ismail Khan election tribunal will decide 14 appeals against rejection of nomination papers. Former federal minister Ali Amin Gandapur is among appellants.

A total of 33 election appeals will be heard by Justice Fazal Subhan of the Bannu tribunal.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan on Thursday notified two more tribunals comprising Justice Syed Mohammad Attique Shah and Justice Wiqar Ahmad for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The tribunals will function at the principal seat of the PHC in Peshawar in addition to the tribunal of Justice Shakeel Ahmad.

They will hear appeals related to seats reserved for women in the National Assembly and KP Assembly and those reserved for non-Muslims in the provincial assembly. These will also decide appeals related to nominations for NA-19-NA-47 and PK-49-PK-96 constituencies.

Meanwhile, the Abbottabad election appellate tribunal summoned PML-N leader retired Captain Mohammad Safdar and NA-15 returning officer Hajrah Samee over the acceptance of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s nomination papers from the Mansehra constituency.

Mr Safdar is the covering candidate for Mr Nawaz.

Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel of the tribunal heard the arguments of Sardar Basharat, the lawyer for PTI Senator Azam Swati Advocate, and Waqar Ahmad Khan, the counsel for PTI leader Sharif Rafique.

Mr Swati and Mr Rafique had challenged the clearance of Mr Nawaz’s nomination for NA-15.

Mr Swati also challenged his disqualification by the NA-15 returning officer through another petition.

“We expect that the tribunal will decide the case today (January 5) after hearing both parties,” lawyer Basharat told reporters.

He claimed that the Supreme Court had disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from holding any public office and taking part in the elections all through his life.

“How can a returning officer clear the PML-N supremo to contest the general election in NA-15 against the apex court’s 2017 verdict in the Panama case?”

The lawyer alleged that the returning officer favoured Mr Nawaz by clearing him for election as the latter didn’t appear before the former.

He added that the returning officer was biased against his client as she rejected his nomination papers for not showing up before her.

Mr Basharat wondered how one candidate’s nomination papers could be accepted and the other’s rejected for the same ground.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2024