SAHIWAL: Former PML-N MNA Chaudhry Asharf wants village 89/6-R back to his newly established NA-148 even after the completion of delimitation by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). His case is pending with the ECP.

The village holds 13,000 Arain clan votes, which can make or break Mr Ashraf’s election. The village has been made part of another constituency - NA-147 - and for that reason, he has moved the Lahore High Court.

His lawyer Ghaffarul Haq told Dawn though the ECP announced the election schedule on May 31, decision on their petition was reserved on May 29.

Mr Ashraf won the 2013 election from NA-161. In the earlier polling scheme, the village was part of the constituency.

Other leaders like Chaudhry Nouraiz Shakoor, Zaki Chaudhry, Imran Shah and Nouman Langrial also filed objections to delimitation with the ECP about the delimitation of NA-147 to 149. These leaders said their objections had been addressed.

Mr Haq said that Mr Ashraf’s plea had been forwarded to the ECP, Islamabad, by the LHC.

Interestingly, PPP’s Zaki Chaudhry and PTI’s Nauraiz Shakoor say thus is ECP jurisdiction to decide about Mr Ashraf’s case.

Tahir Mehdi, an expert on elections and delimitation, says as the ECP has published its final delimitation list of 2018 after removing 1,286 objections, there is no mechanism available with the ECP to answer how these writ petitions would be treatedm which are being forwarded to it by high courts.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2018