RAWALPINDI, Aug 5: The Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi bench, on Thursday reserved judgment on the petition of a candidate in the Attock by-polls, seeking a different election symbol.

Justice Tanveer Bashir Ansari reserved judgment on a petition filed by Eng Jamil Ahmed Malik, a candidate of the Communist Party of Pakistan. The petitioner through his counsel, Irfan Haider, contended that he had been allotted "lock" as election symbol despite the fact that his party symbol was "hammer".

In a related petition filed by a freelance journalist, Shahid Orakzai, the court also reserved judgment after hearing arguments of both the prosecution and the defence counsel.

The petitioner contended that the returning officer, District and Sessions Judge Syed Tahir Sadiq, should be replaced as he was allegedly favouring the government.

Meanwhile, Judge Sakhi Mohammad Kahut of accountability court No-II recorded the statement of a prosecution witness in a corruption reference in which former secretary of the Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDCL), Mr Naseer and two other officials of the ministry, Shahid Ahmed and Jafar Mehmand, have been nominated.

The court recorded the statement of the prosecution witness, Ahsan Siddiqui. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has alleged that those nominated in the reference indulged in embezzlement and corruption while misusing their official capacity.

In the same reference, Judge accountability court No-IV Mazhar Hussain Minhas reserved judgment on an application filed by the co-accused, Khalid Rahim, under 269-K, seeking his acquittal from the charges.