Daily Times

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed’s petition against the NA-60 polls delay.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar heard Rasheed’s plea at Lahore Registry and dismissed his arguments . The top court ruled that the polling for NA-60 would be held after general election as decided by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP.

Rasheed had challenged the ECP’s decision to postpone the election in Rawalpindi’s NA-60 constituency after arrest and disqualification of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Hanif Abbasi, Rasheed’s main contender for the seat, in the ephedrine quota case last week.

On Monday, the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench had rejected Rasheed’s petition.

In his petition in the LHC, Rasheed contended that election could not be postponed due to the sentencing of a candidate.

Rasheed stated in the petition that elections in the constituencies of PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz and Capt (r) Safdar were not postponed when they were jailed in the Avenfield properties reference earlier this month. Separately, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) dismissed on Tuesday the petition of Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) candidate in NA-60, Mukhtar Abbas against polls delay in NA-60.

Taking up Abbas’s plea on Monday, Justice Aamer Farooq issued a notice to the ECP seeking a reply.

During the proceedings, the court perused ECP’s reply after which it dismissed the PPP candidate’s petition.

Other than NA-60, Sh Rasheed is contesting the July 25 general election from Rawalpindi’s NA-62 constituency as well.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, being Rasheed’s ally, has not fielded candidates in any of Rasheed’s constituencies.

Published in Daily Times, July 25^th 2018.