Election tribunal rejects nomination papers of PTI’s Saifullah Abro for Senate polls

F.P. Report

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) suffered a huge blow ahead of Senate elections on Monday as Election Tribunal, Sindh rejected the nomination papers of party’s candidate Saifullah Abro by declaring the returning officer’s (RO) verdict null and void.

In its verdict given in the appeal filed against the acceptance of Abro’s nomination papers for a technocrat seat, the tribunal said the objections raised in the appeal were found to be valid, that he did not meet the criterion of a technocrat, and, therefore, the appeal is accepted.

Earlier, during the hearing of the appeal, Haider Waheed, counsel for PTI candidate Saifullah Abro, argued that under the elections rules the appeal against his client’s candidature was not admissible and that Mustafa Memon, who had filed the appeal, was himself not a candidate.

Counsel for Abro further said that since his client was a licenced engineer from Pakistan Engineering Council, he was eligible to run for the Senate elections on the seat of a technocrat.

“Saifullah Abro’s academic period spreads over 16 years and he has a 20-year of experience as well. Besides that he is currently CEO of a construction company,” counsel Haider Waheed argued.

He told the tribunal that Saifullah Abro had nothing to do with the project which the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was investigating in connection with corruption charges.

“Similarly, the arrest warrants issued for my client have also been suspended,” he said and added his (Abro) name had also been deleted from the Exit Control List (ECL). Giving his arguments in the case, when counsel for the petitioner Rashid A.

Rizvi said that the PTI candidate was facing NAB inquiries at Multan and Sukkur, Justice Agha Faisal remarked that this was even admitted by Haider Waheed, counsel for Saifullah Abro.

There was laughter everywhere in the court when Rizvi said that if the contractor’s nomination papers would be accepted, then the upper House of the parliament would be full of contractors. Election tribunal issues notices to ECP, Faisal Vawda:

The election tribunal on Monday also issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and another PTI candidate for the Senate elections Faisal Vawda over the acceptance of the latter’s nomination papers.