ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) president Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court to challenge the Lahore High Court’s decision whereby it had upheld the rejection of his nomination papers by the Election Tribunal.
He requested the apex court to nullify the Lahore High Court’s January 13 ruling, which he said, had no “legal grounds and based on unfounded objections.”
On Jan 13, 2024, the Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed PTI President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s appeal against the rejection of his papers by the returning officer.
An LHC divisional bench led by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi heard the PTI president’s appeal against the rejection of nomination papers.
Advocate Shahzad Shoukat, the counsel for Pervaiz Elahi, pointed out that his client had been accused of hiding facts in the nomination papers, which, included “not mentioning a licence for seven weapons and a special account in the nomination papers.”
“According to the law, everything is mentioned in the nomination papers,” he informed the court.
He requested the court that Ch Pervaiz Elahi was a senior politician and should be allowed to contest the elections.
The court, however, after hearing arguments by the parties, rejected Ch Pervaiz Elahi’s appeal.
Ch Pervaiz Elahi, in the appeal on Wednesday, argued the rejection of his nomination was based on objections raised by a candidate Muhammad Salim, who alleged that Pervaiz Elahi owned shares in Lahore Modern Flour Mills and had not mentioned it in the papers.
The petition asserted that neither the flour mills was an active unit, nor there was any bank account in his name regarding the flour mills. He vehemently denied any share purchase in the said flour mill, saying an inactive flour mill could not be considered as an asset as per law.
The petition argued that his disqualification for the elections based on the flour mill contradicted the established principles. He emphasized that merely not disclosing an asset should not automatically result in disqualification, rather the intention behind the non-disclosure should be scrutinized.
Pervaiz Elahi also pointed out that the attributed value of the shares in question was merely Rs24,850, which, he said, was a negligible amount compared to his total disclosed assets of Rs175 million. The former two-time Punjab CM argued that he had revealed over Rs57 million in cash among the disclosed assets, saying that such a minor omission could not be considered as ‘malicious.’
About objections raised regarding not disclosing seven arms licenses, the petition adopted the plea that there was no column in the nomination papers for disclosure of arms licenses.
Ch Pervaiz Elahi urged the apex court that the LHC’s decision be declared null and void and he should be allowed to contest the upcoming general elections.
LHC adjourns plea against Pervaiz Elahi’s bail in corruption case
Meanwhile, a single-judge bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday put off till January 30, the hearing of the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment’s (ACE) petition against the bail granted to PTI president Ch Pervaiz Elahi in a corruption case.
Justice Asjad Javed Gharral heard the Punjab government’s petition and adjourned the hearing after issuing notices to the respondents.
