LAHORE, April 25: A full bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday to take action against May 11 election candidates who had defaulted on tax and government dues.
The bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan also asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), State Bank (SBP) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to submit record of the candidates about whom appeals were pending in courts. The number of such candidates is said to be 1,329.
The bench was hearing a petition seeking implementation of Articles 62 and 63 of the constitution in order to keep defaulters of taxes and government dues and those possessing fake educational degrees and holding dual nationality out of the election process.
An FBR official told the bench that the bureau had provided to the ECP the record of over 600, but the commission had not given it basic information about the remaining contestants.
The petitioner’s counsel Azhar Siddique said that of the 600 candidates mentioned by the FBR at least 14 had been found to be tax defaulters, but the ECP had not taken any action against them. They are: Usman Ibrahim, Mohammad Shahbaz Khan, Mohammad Usman Saeed, Rana Asif Tauseef, Rana Zahid Tauseef, Dildar Ahmad, Mohammad Tayab Mir, Saifullah Sial, Gulzar Ahmad, Hafiz Shabbir Ahmad, Mohammad Arshad Tarar, Khizar Hayat Virk, Nadeem Khadim and Shafqat Ali.
The ECP’s counsel said the elections were round the corner and the commission was working hard to complete the process.
He said the proceedings on the petition could hamper the smooth election process.
Justice Ahsan said the role of the ECP was not limited to conducting the polls only but it was also responsible for making the process transparent and spotless. He said the real duty of the commission would begin after the elections.
The bench asked the ECP to take action against the defaulters and adjourned further hearing till April 30.
CONDITIONAL PERMISSION: The bench conditionally allowed former MNA Syed Gulzar Sibtain to contest the elections from NA-145, Okara, and asked the ECP to include his name in the list of valid candidates.
An election tribunal had disqualified Mr Sibtain while admitting an appeal filed by former minister of state Samsam Bokhari alleging that he was involved in a case of canal water theft and had concealed his assets in nomination papers.
Advocate Ahsan Bhoon represented the former MNA and said his client had not been nominated in the case.
He said Mr Sibtain had withdrawn his shares from a CNG station which his opponent had accused him of owning.
Provisionally allowing Mr Sibtain to contest the polls, the bench summoned the record of the case from local police by April 30.
In another case, the bench asked the FBR to submit the income tax and sales tax details of former minister Rana Farooq Saeed Khan. The bench had already conditionally allowed him to contest the elections from NA-79, Faisalabad.
