PESHAWAR, Oct 05: The Peshawar High Court here on Wednesday upheld disqualification of three union council nazims and a naib nazim by an election tribunal in Dera Ismael Khan on ground of possessing sanads of seminaries.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Shehzad Akber Khan and Justice Ejaz Afzal dismissed three identical writ petitions filed by elected nazims and a naib nazim of three union councils of DI Khan by an election tribunal on Oct 1.
The petitions were filed by nazims of union councils Wanda Khan Muhammad, Darband and Meran namely Abdul Ghafoor, Iqbal Khan and Juma Khan, respectively, and naib nazim of Wanda Khan Muhammad namely Haji Abdul Haleem, stated to be maternal-uncle of opposition leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Against the four petitioners their rival candidates had filed election petitions before the election tribunal in DI Khan, stating that they contested elections on the basis of a sanad, Shahadatul Sanvia Ama.
They claimed that according to the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered on Sept 16 only those candidates possessing a sanad would be qualified who had passed compulsory subjects of English, Urdu and Pakistan Studies.
The election tribunal had accepted the election petitions on Oct 1 and ordered re-elections on the said posts.
Aggrieved with those orders, the four petitioners had moved the high court, stating that they had studied in a recognised seminary and the sanad issued to them was acceptable for all purposes, including contesting polls.
Advocates Farmanullah Khattak and Sardar Ali Raza appeared for the petitioners and requested the court to suspend the order of the election tribunal and allow the petitioners to cast votes in the third phase of local government elections on Oct 6.
The bench observed that the Supreme Court had given guidelines to all the courts in its judgment given on Sept 16. The bench observed that the court had clearly pronounced that candidates should also pass subjects of English, Urdu and Pakistan Studies following which the sanad of Shahadatul Sanvia Ama would be equivalent to matriculation, a qualification given for the candidates contesting for the posts of nazim and naib nazim.
Petition Admitted: The high court admitted to full hearing a writ petition filed by a union council nazim disqualified by an election tribunal.
The petitioner, Faqir Ashfaq, was disqualified by an election tribunal for possessing a seminary sanad and his opponent candidate was declared as nazim of union council Yawrak in DI Khan.
The petitioner has requested the high court that instead of declaring the losing candidate as nazim, the election tribunal should have ordered re-election. He requested the court to declare the order of the election tribunal illegal and order re-election in the union council.