ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday rejected a petition filed by PTI Senator Faisal Vawda against disqualification proceedings being conducted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against him over allegedly holding dual nationality.
The lawmaker had filed the appeal against the ECP’s decision issued last month rejecting his application to stop the proceedings against him. He had argued that the case against him had become invalid as ECP failed to make a decision within the prescribed time limit.
During today’s hearing, Vawda’s counsel repeated the same argument, stating that the top election body was bound to take a decision on the application within 60 days of him being elected and it has now become invalid as the petition against his client was overdue.
He told the court that ECP was bound to decide the application within 60 days according to the Elections Act, 2017.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked that the petition against Vawda had been filed within the 60 days of his election, adding: “Let the ECP make a decision in accordance with the law if Vawda is in the clear”.
The judge also asked if Vawda had submitted a response against the petition in the ECP.
After hearing the counsel’s arguments, the chief justice declared Vawda’s petition inadmissible.
In 2020, a citizen had filed a petition in the ECP, seeking disqualification of Vawda as member of the National Assembly over hiding his dual nationality.
When Vawda filed his nomination papers for NA elections he also held dual nationality of the US citizen, the petitioner claimed.
Read more: https://pakobserver.net/ecp-seeks-faisal-vawdas-reply-over-disqualification-petition/
