KARACHI, Feb 25: Ten more candidates have approached the Sindh High Court for repolling in their constituencies and stay of notification of final results.

PPP’s Mirza Ikhtiar Beg was the first to seek re-balloting in 23 out of 141 polling stations of the NA-250 national constituency which, according to unofficial results, returned MQM’s Khushbakht Shujaat. A division bench comprising Justices Azizullah M. Memon and Arshad Noor Khan issued preadmission notices on February 21 to the Election Commission and other respondents for Feb 26 after hearing Mir Javed Shaikh for the petitioner.

MQM’s Dr K.S. Mujahid Baloch (NA-239), Shaikh Mohammad Feroze (PS-89), Ashfaq Ahmad Mangi (PS-90), Salahuddin (PS-93) and Sattar Khan (PS-128) moved the court on Feb 23. Notices to the respondents and federal and provincial attorneys were issued on their petitions for Feb 28. Meanwhile, the election authorities were restrained from notifying the results of the unofficial winners, Abdul Qadir Patel, Akhtar Jadoon, Amir Nawab, Nadeem Bhutto and Feroze Hazarvi of the PPP and the ANP. The preadmission notices were issued by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro and Justice Farrukh Zia Shaikh after hearing Advocates Abrar Hasan and Syed Masroor Alvi for the petitioners.

Two writ petitions moved by PPP’s Mir Hasan Khan Khoso (PS-15, Jacobabad) and Zulfiqar Ali Kamaryo (PS-9, Garhi Yasin, Shikarpur) of the PML (Q) through Advocates Abrar Hasan and Masroor Alvi are fixed for hearing before a division bench consisting of Justices Azizullah M. Memon and Arshad Noor Khan on Feb 26. They have challenged the unofficial winners, Dr Sohrab Sarki of the PML (Q) and Agha Siraj Khan Durrani of the PPP. While the former alleges last-minute change of results, the latter says four returning officers were changed one after another and he lost because of widespread rigging before and during the poll.

Meanwhile, PPP’s Aftab Shaban Mirani has challenged the election of NPP’s Dr Ebrahim Jatoi from NA-202 (Shikarpur). Other PPP candidates who have questioned the unofficial results are: Agha Arsalan Khan, Najmi Alam, Faisal Raza Abidi, Abdul Hakim Baloch, Mohammad Rafiq Baloch, Shabbir Qureshi, Zulfiqar Behan and Qurban Ali Behan. They seek to challenge the election of NPP’s Abid H. Jatoi from PS-12 (Shikarpur), MQM’s Muqeem Alam from PS-112 (Karachi), MQM’s Haider Abbas Rizvi from NA-253 (Karachi), MQM’s Faisal Sabzwari from PS-126 (Karachi), MQM’s Nisar Ahmad Panwar from PS-127 (Karachi), MQM’s Abdul Haseeb from PS-92 (Karachi), NPP’s Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi from NA-211 (Naushehro Feroze) and NPP’s Masroor Khan Jatoi from PS-23 (Nushehro Feroze), respectively. Candidate Salim Zia of the PML (N) has also challenged the election of MQM’s Askari Taqvi from PS-113.