Nomination papers of Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Omar Ayub approved by tribunal

• Qureshi and son Zain's papers were approved for NA-214.
• Omar Ayub's plea for rejection of papers in NA-18 dismissed.
• Omar allowed to contest polls from NA-18 in Haripur.

The nomination papers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi were cleared Friday, allowing him to contest in the upcoming general elections scheduled to take place on February 8.

Qureshi's papers were approved after the Election Appellate Tribunal conducted a hearing of appeals against the rejection or acceptance of nomination submissions by the returning officers (ROs) in the run-up to the polls. 

The nomination papers by the PTI politician were approved by the tribunal for the NA-214 constituency in Sindh's Umarkot city, while his son Zain Qureshi's papers were also cleared for contesting in the same constituency.

Meanwhile, a petition filed by PTI leader Omar Ayub Khan against the rejection of his nomination papers for NA-18 was dismissed in Abbottabad.

However, he has been allowed to contest polls from NA-18 in Haripur.

The tribunal also allowed Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Babar Nawaz to contest the election from NA-18. 

Both Ayub and Nawaz withdrew their objections against each other, after which their papers were approved.

PTI leader in Sindh, Haleem Adil Sheikh, has also been cleared to contest from NA-238. Another PTI candidate Arsalan Khalid's papers were also approved from NA-241 after the tribunal heard his appeal.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Mirza Ikhtiar Baig has been granted conditional permission to contest the election from the NA-241 constituency due to his dual citizenship status.

Tribunal judge Adnan Al-Karim Memon told Baig to submit an affidavit if he has renounced his dual citizenship status.

"If the affidavit is found to be false, then after the election, the victory will be annulled," the tribunal said.

A day earlier, several senior political leaders including Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Akhtar Mengal, and Firdous Shamim Naqvi among others secured relief from election tribunals as their nomination papers were accepted for contesting in upcoming polls.

Hearing of objections filed against rejection or acceptance of nomination papers by the election tribunals and courts of law continued on Thursday during which different election tribunals approved the nomination papers of Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Rashid, Balochistan National Party (BNP) head Mengal and PML-Zia chief Ijazul Haq.