ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has restored the membership of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former minister of finance Ishaq Dar, following the directives of the Supreme Court (SC).
“In pursuant to the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan dated December 21, 2021 in Civil Appeal No.352 of 2018 […] the Election Commission of Pakistan hereby recalls the notification dated June 29 , 2018 and the notification of even number dated March 9, 2018, to the extent of Mohammad Ishaq Dar, as returned candidate, is hereby restored,” an official notification issued in this regard read.
It is pertinent to mention here that in 2018 the ECP withdrew a notification of former finance minister Ishaq Dar’s election as a senator.
The notification was withdrawn in the light of the Supreme Court’s orders as in May 2018, the apex court had suspended Dar’s senatorship on a temporary basis.
A petition, moved by PPP’s Nawazish Pirzada, had requested the apex court to suspend the Lahore High Court judgment allowing Dar to contest the Senate elections.
On February 17, an appellate election tribunal of the LHC had granted Dar permission to contest Senate elections, setting aside an order of the returning officer who had rejected his nomination papers.
Dar was successfully elected to the Senate from Punjab but had yet to be administered oath. The former finance minister has been out of the country since October 2017 on account of his medical treatment.
He has since been declared a proclaimed offender in a corruption case filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
