Election heat rises as Appellate benches decide candidates’ fate

– Plea against Maryam Nawaz dismissed
– Hammad Azhar, father get green signal for PP 171, Hammad disqualified from NA 129
– Ali Muhammad Khan’s plea accepted

LAHORE/PESHAWAR: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Appellate Tribunal has rejected the appeal against the approval of nomination papers for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Maryam Nawaz from NA 119 Lahore.

Hammad Azhar, Sanam Javed to remain ‘disqualified’

The candidate from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Nadeem Sherwani, had filed the appeal challenging the decision of the Returning Officer (RO) who had initially approved Maryam Nawaz’s nomination papers. The Appellate Tribunal, led by Judge Ahmed Nadeem, delivered its verdict, affirming the approval of Maryam Nawaz’s papers.

Meanwhile, from PP 171, there were twists in the nomination saga as the LHC Appellate Tribunal, led by Judge Ahmed Nadeem, declared Hamad Azhar and his father Mian Azhar eligible for the election despite the initial rejection by the RO. This comes hours after Hammad Azhar’s nomination rejection from NA 129 in Lahore was upheld by the appellate tribunal.

In Peshawar, the Election Tribunal, presided over by Judge Waqar Ahmed, conducted a hearing on the appeal against the rejection of PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan’s nomination papers. The Election Tribunal accepted Ali Muhammad Khan’s appeal, deeming his papers valid for the upcoming elections.

ECP submits reports to Supreme Court on PTI contempt case

The objection raised against Ali Muhammad Khan was that he had not affixed the party ticket while submitting his nomination papers. The appellant’s advocate clarified that party tickets could be collected until January 12, and that there was no requirement to submit them in advance.

The Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) counsel in Peshawar reiterated this point, stating that party tickets could be submitted until January 12, and that the candidates would be allotted symbols on January 13.