ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former federal minister Faisal Vawda filed another plea in the Supreme Court for an early hearing of his appeal against lifetime disqualification from Parliament.
In his petition, Vawda pleaded for an immediate hearing of his appeal in the next week due to urgent nature of the matter during the week commencing from February 21. The petition filed by senior lawyer Waseem Sajjad apprised the court that the ECP had given no grounds or reasons for invoking Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution to disqualify him for life.
Vawda had approached the apex court only a day ago with the plea to set aside the February 9 decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that barred him from parliamentary politics.
Earlier Faisal Vawda had challenged his disqualification from the Parliament in a plea in the Supreme Court after his plea was dismissed by the Islamabad High Court against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) to disqualify him for life after he failed to disclose his nationality while contesting the 2018 general elections.
In the petition submitted through his lawyer, Vawda contended that the commission had no power to disqualify any politician for life as it was not a court of law. He said the IHC dismissed his petition against his disqualification in haste and pleaded to set aside the ECP decision of disqualifying him for a lifetime.
READ MORE: PTI’s Faisal Vawda challenges lifetime disqualification in SC
An ECP bench, led by Chief Election Commissioner Faisal Sultan Raja, had disqualified Vawda on Feb 9 for concealing his dual nationality and instructed him to return the salary and other perks received as a minister and MNA within two months. He was subsequently de-notified as a senator.
The ECP has announced the schedule for election on the Senate seat vacated after Vawda’s disqualification. According to the ECP, polling for the vacant senate seat will be held on March 09 in the Sindh Assembly building.
The candidates can submit their nomination papers from February 17 to 19. The lists of the candidates will be displayed at the office of the election commission on Feb 21. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be conducted on Feb 24, while appeals against the scrutiny decisions will be heard on Feb 28.
