ISLAMABAD: A petition seeking Faisal Vawda’s disqualification was filed with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday, stating that the federal minister had violated Article 62 & 63 of the Constitution for allegedly hiding his dual citizenship.
The complaint was filed by a man named Qadir Mandokhel, who alleged that Vawda had hidden that he held dual citizenship when he filed his nomination papers.
The petition accuses Vawda of hiding that he was a citizen of the US when he filed his nomination papers to contest General Elections 2018.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in a judgment, had categorically stated that the candidates who previously held dual nationality should have the renunciation certificate at the time of filing of nomination papers.
Various legislators were disqualified by the top court on this count; included among them were two PML-N senators. Both had applied for the renunciation of foreign citizenship much earlier but were unable to obtain the certificate when they filed nomination papers, owing to the long process.
Prime Minister Imran banned Vawda from appearing on television talk shows for two weeks, the PM's Special Assistant on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan had revealed a few days ago.
The development comes days after Vawda kicked up a storm by bringing a black boot to a television talk show, mocking the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for their support of the Army Act bill and saying the opposition party was "lying down to kiss the boot" to save their own corruption.
SAPM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said the prime minister had restricted Vawda from participating in TV talk shows for two weeks and has sought clarification from the federal minister for his behavior on the talk show.
Startling all by placing the boot on top of the table during the live TV show, Vawda mocked the PML-N slogan 'Vote Ko Izzat Do' by saying 'Boot Ko Izzat Do'. He claimed the opposition party was deviating from its stance by lending unconditional support for the services chief's tenure bills.
"I am going to bring this [boot] to every talk show," he said. "This is how democratic the PML-N is. They lie down to kiss the boot," he added.
When asked why he was criticising the PML-N for supporting the PTI government on the Army Act bill, Vawda said: "It was our stance. We were doing it for the Pakistani nation and we stood firm [on our stance]."