Several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates and their allies re-entered the election arena on Thursday after successful appeals against the rejection of their nomination papers by returning officers (ROs) during the scrutiny process last week.
Following the period for filing appeals against the ROs’ decisions, the appellate tribunals started issuing rulings, while notices were issued on many others to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and other relevant parties.
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Numerous PTI candidates, whose papers faced rejection, challenged the decisions of the RO, while objections were also raised against the acceptance of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif’s papers in Karachi.
According to the election schedule, nomination papers were received until December 22 and scrutinized by December 30. Candidates had until January 3 to challenge the decisions of the ROs, with the tribunals set to dispose of all appeals by January 10.
Candidates whose nomination papers were approved by the appellate tribunals include PTI Central Vice President Firdous Shamim Naqvi for NA-236, Karachi, and PTI ally Sheikh Rashid along with his nephew Sheikh Rashid Shafiq for NA 56 and 57 in Rawalpindi.
Other candidates, such as Ijazul Haq, Punjab Assembly Speaker Sabatin Khan, Aminullah Khan, Hafeez Khan, Khaleeq Kayani, Raja Rashid Hafeez, Tahir Sadiq, Naz Sadiq, Iman Sadiq, Babar Jadoon, Raja Ahmed Aziz Bhatti, also had their nomination papers approved.
Appellate tribunals in Rawalpindi continued hearing appeals, approving 20 and rejecting six out of a total of 26 appeals on Thursday. They also accepted 35 appeals for hearing while hearing 10 others. Notable figures like PTI founder Imran Khan, former Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi, and former Minister Fawad Chaudhary had their appeals accepted, with notices issued to the ECP and the concerned ROs.
In Islamabad, the appellate tribunal issued notices on the appeals of 51 candidates whose nomination papers were rejected, including PTI’s Ilyas Mehrban, Aamir Mughal, Shiraz Kayani, and Zubair Farooq.
Furthermore, the tribunal issued notices to parties concerned on an appeal against the acceptance of the nomination papers of transgender candidate Nayab Ali, seeking their response by Monday. The tribunal judge remarked that objections regarding Nayab Ali’s gender mentioned in the national identity card had been raised at the scrutiny stage but were rejected by the RO.
In Karachi, the appellate tribunal at the Sindh High Court accepted the nomination papers of PTI Central Vice President Firdous Naqvi for NA-236, Karachi. The tribunal declared objections to his nomination papers as “illegal.”
The electoral process continued to witness legal proceedings, appeals, and decisions across various regions of Pakistan as the election landscape unfolded.
