LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leaders Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and Andleeb Abbas have, respectively, challenged the Senate election nomination papers of former finance minister Ishaq Dar, prime minister’s sister Saadia Abbasi and Nuzhat Sadiq in the Election Commission, Punjab.

The three candidates are set to contest Senate election on the ruling PML-N ticket.

Mr Rasheed, who is opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly, has challenged Mr Dar’s nomination for Senate poll taking a plea that the candidate has been declared a proclaimed offender by an accountability court.

On the other hand, he said, a case of money laundering and having assets beyond known sources of income was being heard against Mr Dar by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He also challenged the authenticity of the signatures on Dar’s nomination papers as well as the attached documents.

The PTI leader stated that Mr Dar had submitted two nomination papers on the same bank account.

Mr Rasheed prayed that the Election Commission should reject the nomination papers and declare Mr Dar ineligible for contesting the March 3 Senate elections.

Meanwhile, the PTI’s candidate of women seat from Punjab, Ms Andleeb Abbas, challenged the nomination papers filed by prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s sister Sadia Abbasi and Nuzhat Sadiq for the Senate election 2018.

Ms Abbas filed two identical petitions against the candidature of the respondents on similar grounds. She alleged that respondent candidates failed to declare assets and liabilities owned by them and their spouses that was binding under the Representation of Peoples Act 1976. She pleaded that the respondents also concealed the details of their income tax and wealth tax details.

The PTI leader pleaded the respondents by committing violation of the established provisions of law were exposed to disqualification and were not eligible to contest the election.

Later, speaking to media persons, PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid said nobody was above the law and everybody must be treated equally.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2018