Islamabad High Court Friday issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and other respondents in a petition seeking disqualification of three women members of National Assembly (MNAs) of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Aamer Farooq conducted the hearing of the petition and issued notices to the ECP and three MNAs, including Maleeka Bukhari, Tashfeen Safdar and Kanwal Shahzeb, directing them to submit reply in the matter.
The court issued these directions in a petition moved by Abdullah Khan and Chaudhry Mehmood Ali Hashim. They filed the petition through their counsel Advocate Ahmad Raza Kasuri and cited ECP and the three MNAs elected on National Assembly seats reserved for women as respondents.
The petitioners stated that a report of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted to the ECP identified Maleeka as a holder of United Kingdom (UK) passport and furthermore, she vide her affidavit in support of the nomination papers confirmed that she had renounced the nationality of UK and surrendered British passport through a declaration signed and stamped by the representative of UK Home Office dated June 11, 2018.
They added that Bukhari submitted her nomination papers on 10-6-18 and remained a dual national till 11-6-2018, which indicates the fact that the respondent was a dual national at 11-6-2018 which was the deadline notified by the ECP for submission of nomination papers.
Similarly, petitioners said Tashfeen Safdar had held a foreign passport which she surrendered on 25-3-2018. He added she ought to have disclosed her renunciation in the affidavit of her nomination papers dated 8-6-2018 while failure to do so is tantamount to mala fide, perjury and fabricating false evidence.
The petitioners continued that respondent No 4 Shezzeb Kanwal in her affidavit dated 13-6-2018 stated on oath that '[she] was registered as a voter at serial 428 in the electoral roll of electoral area F-8/3 of teshil/taluka Islamabad.'
They contended that it is a fact that the respondent no. 4 had contested the Senate Election on the general seat from the federal capital during March 2018 but in her nomination papers, Kanwal had stated that she contested her candidature and details.
They informed the court that later she got transferred her vote from Islamabad to Rawalpindi through a writ petition before the IHC. Therefore, they prayed to the court that the respondent 2, 3 and 4 may be directed to satisfy this court that under what authority of law they are holding this public office and in case the court is not satisfied regarding their legality to hold the said public offices in that eventuality, the ECP may be directed to de-notify them under Article(s) 62 and 63 of the Constitution.
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