KARACHI, March 12 The Sindh High Court dismissed on Wednesday all five petitions moved by Muttahida Qaumi Movement candidates against their unofficially elected rivals for the city's national and provincial seats.

A division bench consisting of Justices Azizullah M. Memon and Arshad Noor Khan, which reserved its judgment last week, observed that the petitions involved disputed questions of facts, which required recording of evidence. The factual controversies could not be decided by the high court in exercise of its writ jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution. The election tribunals were the appropriate forum for adjudication of such disputes under Article 225 of the Constitution and Section 52 of the Representation of People Act. Dismissing the petitions, the bench allowed the Election Commission to notify the unofficial winners.

The petitions were moved by MQM's Dr K.S. Mujahid Baloch, Sardar Khan, Sheikh Mohammad Feroz, Salahuddin and Ashfaq Ahmed Mangi to challenge the unofficial victory of Abdul Qadir Patel (Pakistan People's Party), Amanullah Khan Masood (Awami National Party), Akhtar Hussain Jadoon (PPP), Ameer Nawab (ANP) and Nadeem Ahmed Bhutto (PPP), on NA-239, PS-128, PS-89, PS-93, and PS-90.

Advocates Abrar Hasan and Masroor Alvi represented the petitioners and Advocates Kamaluddin Azfar, Khalid Jawaid Khan and Shahadat Awan the respondent candidates.

The petition moved by Syed Hafeezuddin, PML(N) candidate from NA-239, was also dismissed on the same ground.

Another bench comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro and Justice Pir Ali Shah dismissed the petition moved by PPP's Ghulam Qadir Malkani against the election of Mohammad Ali Malkani of the PML (Q) from PS-87 (Thatta) after hearing detailed arguments advanced by Advocates Raja Qureshi and Khwaja Shamsul Islam on behalf of the petitioner and the respondent, respectively.

The former bench adjourned to March 20 the hearing of the petitions submitted by PPP candidates Raja Ghous Bux Bijarani and Muneer Hussain Khan Golo against their successful PML (Q) rivals, Mir Ghulam Abid Khan Sundarani and Mir Ghalib Khan Domki from PS-17 and PS-18 (Kashmore). Advocate Abrar Hasan submitted on behalf of the petitioners that a large number of voters were disenfranchised by inaccessibility of polling stations in the kutcha area. He said repolling had been ordered in the kutcha area of a neighbouring constituency, PS-12, on the same ground and he wanted nothing more than the same treatment on behalf of his clients.

Advocate Raza Hashmi relied on the 2003 SHC judgment in Kunwar Khalid Yunus's case and drew a distinction between pre-notification and post-notification remedies available to the aggrieved candidates. He said his clients, Mr Domki and Mr Sundarani, have already been notified and in view of the bar contained in Article 225 of the Constitution and Section 52 of the Representation of People Act, the writ remedy was no longer available to the petitioners. They can seek a remedy only from an election tribunal by filing an election petition.

Reserved seats

The Sindh High Court restrained the Election Commission and the federal parliamentary affairs ministry from giving oath to Ms Rena Kumari, who has been elected to a National Assembly seat reserved for women from the quota allocated to the Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) on the basis of the party's strength on the general seats in the province.

Petitioner Surraiya Jatoi, Sindh High Court Bar Association Vice-President Z. K. Jatoi, submitted through Advocates Rasheed A. Razvi and Khalid Hamid that her name appeared at serial number eight on the Pakistan People's Party's list of nominees for women's seats. The party was allocated seven seats and she had to be left out. The PML (Functional) got one woman's seat on the basis of three general seats won by it in Sindh on February 18.

The allocation, the petitioner maintained, violated the eligibility criterion for women's seats as a party must bag at least five per cent of the general seats to earn a quota of women's seats. The PML (F), which has secured only three out of 272 general seats, merits no allocation from the reserved seats. If the seat given to Ms Rena Kumari is cancelled, Mrs Jatoi said, the number of PPP seats would be increased to eight and she would become a member of the National Assembly. She said the PML (F) MNA-elect be restrained from taking an oath on March 17. Issuing preadmission notices in the petition to the respondent Election Commission and the ministry of parliamentary affairs for March 19, a division bench allowed the petitioner's plea for a restraint order till that date. The bench noted in its interim order the petitioner's contention that under Article 51, Proviso 4 (e) read with 4(d), a political party securing less than 5 per cent of the total number of seats in the National Assembly shall not be entitled to any seat reserved for women or non-Muslims.