ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday dismissed a petition filed by PTI Senator Faisal Vawda, seeking a stay on proceedings of the disqualification case against him in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
During today’s hearing, Vawda’s counsel argued that the ECP had to decide the application against the senator within 60 days of him being elected and thus the petition against Vawda was overdue and should be declared invalid.
To this, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah asked, “According to which law are you saying this?” The counsel responded that the ECP was bound to make a decision within 60 days according to the Elections Act, 2017.
Justice Minallah said that an application had been filed against Vawda within 60 days and called upon the senator to prove his innocence and let the ECP take action in accordance with the law if he was in the clear.
“What are you afraid of? Let the Election Commission hear the case, Justice Minallah said. Your application is not maintainable, it is hence rejected, he said.
Vawda had filed the petition on Thursday against the decision of the ECP dated October 12 through which his application to stop the proceedings regarding his disqualification case was rejected. He had adopted the stance that the case against him in the ECP had become invalid as the body could not make a decision within the prescribed time limit.
A citizen, Dost Ali, had filed an application in the ECP against Vawda, seeking his disqualification over hiding information pertaining to his dual nationality.
