Ex-Pak PM Abbasi moves HC against disqualification to contest election from Rawalpindi

Pakistan's former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi today moved the Lahore High Court against an election tribunal's decision barring him from contesting the July 25 general election from Rawalpindi.

Questioning the tribunal's jurisdiction to disqualify a candidate, Abbasi's counsel Khawaja Tariq Rahim urged the high court to set aside the verdict.

Observing that Abbasi was guilty of concealment of facts and withholding of complete information from his voters, a single-member tribunal of Justice Ibadur Rehman Lodhi yesterday disqualified the former prime minister from contesting the general election from Rawalpindi and declared that he was not Sadiq' (truthful) and Ameen' (righteous).

Abbasi had filed nominations for NA-53 Islamabad and NA-57 Rawalpindi seats. Initially, election officials had rejected his nomination from Islamabad but accepted his bid from Rawalpindi.

He had challenged his rejection from the capital in a special election tribunal of the Islamabad High Court, where his plea was accepted by judge Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on Tuesday.

Abbasi's rival candidate from NA-57 (Murree in Rawalpindi), Masood Abbasi had challenged his candidature in the tribunal led by Justice Lodhi.

He had accused the former premier of tampering with the nomination papers and illegally occupying forest land in his native Murree city near Islamabad, and certain other objections including not declaring the exact worth of a house in Islamabad.