The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates, including the party’s President Parvez Elahi and Sanam Javaid, to participate in the upcoming elections scheduled for February 8.
The apex court also approved the appeals of other PTI candidates including Umer Aslam, Major (retd) Tahir Sadiq, and Shukat Basra, who had faced rejection of their nomination papers by returning officers in various constituencies.
Parvez Elahi, seeking to contest the general election from the PP-32 constituency in Gujarat district, had approached the Supreme Court after the Lahore High Court (LHC) upheld the Election Tribunal’s decision to reject his nomination papers.
Represented by Advocate Faisal Siddiqui, Elahi pointed out discrepancies in objections raised by rival candidates and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Siddiqui emphasized the urgency of allowing Elahi to participate in the elections and urged the court not to cause any delays.
During the proceedings, Justice Minallah expressed concern that voters should not be deprived of their right to vote, highlighting the role of a returning officer in facilitating rather than obstructing the election process.
Justice Shah emphasized the inclusive nature of elections, citing Article 17, which prohibits barring anyone from contesting without valid reasons.
The judges observed the peculiar circumstances surrounding one political party, noting that the Constitution encouraged enfranchisement rather than disenfranchisement.
Following the arguments, the Supreme Court declared the rejection of Elahi’s nomination papers from PP-32 as invalid and granted him permission to contest the polls from the Gujarat provincial assembly seat.
Elahi opted to withdraw appeals against the rejection of nomination papers from other constituencies.
Parvez Elahi, a senior PTI leader, has been in legal trouble since his initial arrest on June 1 last year in a Rs70 million graft case related to the misappropriation of development funds allocated for Gujrat district.
Despite multiple releases, he was re-arrested in various cases, including money laundering allegations and charges related to illegal appointments in the Punjab Assembly.
Apart from Elahi, the Supreme Court allowed PTI candidates Tahir Sadiq and Omer Aslam Awan to contest elections from NA-49 (Attock) and NA-87 (Khushab) constituencies, respectively.
Sanam Javaid received permission to participate in polls from NA-119, NA-120, and PP-125, while Shukat Basra was cleared to run in elections from NA-163 (Bahawalnagar).
