ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Faisal Vawda filed an appeal before the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday seeking nullification of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to disqualify him for a lifetime.
An ECP bench on February 9 disqualified Vawda to be a lawmaker for concealing his US citizenship and directed him to return the salary and other benefits he had received as a minister and as a member of the National Assembly, within two months. It had also de-notified him as a senator. Vawda later filed an appeal before the Islamabad High Court against the verdict that was dismissed on the grounds of being “infructuous’.
Vawda in his petition before the SCP maintained that the ECP does not hold the legal authority to give him lifetime qualification as it is not a court of law. He cited the case of Saadia Abbasi in his petition.
Read more: Polling on vacant Senate seat of Faisal Vawda to be held on March 9
The short order announced by the ECP declared that the vote Vawda cast in the Senate polls held on March 10 as a member of the National Assembly was also “invalid” as he submitted a “false affidavit” when submitting nomination papers.
lea of Qadir Mandokhail, Mian Faisal, and Mian Asif Mahmood was first heard on February 3, 2020. The decision on the case was reserved for December 23, 2021.
The petitioners maintained that Senator Vawda did not declare his US citizenship in his nomination papers on a Karachi national assembly seat. Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court gave a deadline of two months to the Election Commission to give a decision on the case. It maintained that it could not disqualify Faisal Vawda as he already resigned from his National Assembly seat earlier.
Read more: IHC rejects Vawda’s petition challenging his disqualification by ECP
However, the IHC remarked, “There are consequences of submitting a false affidavit according to the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan”, adding that the ECP should decide what to do about Faisal Vawda’s alleged false affidavit.
Vawda gave his resignation from his National Assembly seat in March 2021. The PTI legislator also filed a petition before the Sindh High Court to adjourn the ECP’s decision on his disqualification case.
