Appellate tribunal allows Ishaq Dar to contest Senate elections
ECP had earlier rejected Dar’s nomination papers calling him a court absconder
February 17, 2018
LAHORE: An appellate tribunal of the Lahore High Court on Saturday allowed former finance minister Ishaq Dar to contest the upcoming Senate elections.
Dar had filed nomination papers for a technocrat seat in the Senate from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for the elections, scheduled for March 3. However, the nomination papers were rejected by the returning officer.
The nomination papers were rejected as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had submitted court documents before the returning officer stating that Dar was a court absconder in a corruption reference under way in the Islamabad accountability court.
The returning officer had then ruled that Dar was not ‘honest’ and ‘truthful’ as per the Constitution.
Subsequently, Dar’s counsel Salman Butt filed an appeal at the Lahore High Court's appellate tribunal stating that the returning officer rejected his papers even though all the legal requirements were fulfilled.
The court was requested to nullify the returning officer's rejection of Dar's nomination papers.
On Saturday, the tribunal accepted the request, allowing Dar to contest the elections.
Dar, in London for medical treatment since October last year, is facing a corruption case in the accountability court for amassing assets beyond his known sources of income.
