LAHORE: An election tribunal, comprising Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh and Justice Shahid Waheed, will hear today (Monday) appeals against acceptance of nomination papers of former first lady Kulsoom Nawaz, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate for NA-120 by-poll.
Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and the Pakistan People’s Party candidates had challenged the acceptance of Kulsoom Nawaz’s nomination papers by raising a number of pleas. These appeals would decide the fate of by-election scheduled to be held on September 17.
Meanwhile, Lahore High Court Chief Justice last week imposed a ban on sale of national flags in different colours other than green and white, with directives to police to take action against the violators.
A similar order was passed a decade ago but the administration had miserably failed to implement the order in letter and spirit.
Last week, the chief justice also disposed of a petition seeking directives to restrain ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif from heading any office or meeting of PML-N, as the court was told that the Election Commission of Pakistan had taken the cognisance on the issue. Also the PML-N took a sigh of relief last week after Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh dismissed a petition against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, federal ministers, senators and other elected representatives for their alleged speeches against judges of the Supreme Court during the PML-N rally from Islamabad to Lahore.
During the past week, Justice Shahid Waheed of the LHC also issued a notice on a petition seeking disqualification of three PML-N MPAs including, Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir and two MPAs – Waheed Gul and Majid Zahoor. The petition argued that the MPAs were acting as directors of the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) owned by Punjab government as such they stood disqualified under Article 63 of the constitution.
The LHC also gave PAT one-time exemption to hold sit-in on The Mall, with directives to terminate the gathering before 10pm. In 2011, the LHC had imposed a complete ban on taking out rallies, processions and holding protest on The Mall. In yet another petition seeking protection of domestic workers rights, the Punjab government gave an undertaking that within next three months the Punjab domestic workers rights act 2017 would be passed through provincial assembly. Moreover, a petition was also filed at the Lahore registry of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to make public an inquiry report conducted by Justice Ali Baqar Najfi on Model Town incident.
Published in Daily Times, August 211st 2017.