Wahida Shah, a former MPA of Pakistan People's Party, on Friday filed a petition in the Supreme Court, challenging her disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). According to the ECP verdict, Wahida Shah, a candidate of PPP for the Sindh Assembly's PS-53 constituency, was declared ineligible to contest elections for two years after she was found guilty of slapping a presiding officer during bye-elections last year.
In her petition, Shah contended that the ECP verdict should be suspended till a decision on her appeal which was pending before the Supreme Court. Hashmat Habib, the counsel representing Shah, filed the petition in the apex court stating that if the apex court did not suspend the ECP verdict, his client's right would be demolished after the announcement of election schedule, adding that the people of her constituency "will be deprived of a leader if she remains disqualified".
According to the ECP verdict, Shah had been found guilty of slapping Presiding Officer Habiba Memon and others during the polling of bye-elections at the polling station No 16 and had, therefore, been found guilty of interfering in the polling process.