While suspending the decision of the appellate tribunal, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday declared the former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi eligible to contest the general elections 2018 from his home Constituency NA-57 Rawalpindi-I.
Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi led two-member bench of the LHC announced the verdict in Khaqan Abbasi’s favour, who had already been barred by the Election Tribunal Comprising Justice Ibadul Rehman Lodhi to vie for upcoming polls from NA-57 for life.
The former prime minister filed a plea through his lawyer Khawaja Tariq Raheem in the LHC on Thursday against the election tribunal’s decision with the argument that the tribunal had acted beyond his authority as it enjoyed no power to disqualify him for life.
Just read judgement of disqualification of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, terribly written, nothing sound .. in my personal opinion order is way beyond the Constitution and the law and even reason…
— Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) June 28, 2018
It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) worker Masood Ahmed Abbasi had filed a petition in the election tribunal against the acceptance of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s nomination papers for NA-57.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi won the previous general elections from his home Constituency in Murree in 1990, 1993, 1997, 2008 and 2013 respectively while suffered a defeat in 2002 against Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Ghulam Murtaza Satti.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi back on track to contest the elections- LHC sets aside ECP decision re Abbasi’s disqualification for life
— Nasim Zehra (@NasimZehra) June 29, 2018
BIG RELIEF for PMLN : Shahid Khaqan Abbasi allowed by Lhr HC to contest from NA 57 !
— Gharidah Farooqi (@GFarooqi) June 29, 2018
