RAWALPINDI: Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed's nomination papers to contest in the upcoming February 8 general elections were rejected due to an unpaid bill for a rest house of the Murree Forest Department, among other reasons cited by the returning officer.
The veteran politico stayed in the rest house from September 4 to September 9 2022, without paying the bill and owes the government Rs322,000.
The reasons behind the rejection of nomination papers submitted by Rashid and his nephew, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, were cited in the copy of the objections provided to both politicians by the RO Nazarat Ali.
According to the objections, the senior politicians failed to provide complete details of his assets, while the value of assets declared by him was not consistent with the investment he had made. He did not mention the income for the years 2021 to 2023 in the papers.
An objection was also raised about Rashid purchasing land in Mouza Sial but did not disclose it in the returns.
Meanwhile, the politician's nephew, according to the RO, did not submit his wife's tax returns and also failed to provide complete details of his assets.
It should be noted that the nomination papers of Sheikh Rashid from NA-56 and Rashid Shafiq from NA-57 were rejected by the ROs.
Sheikh Rashid is among the several political bigwigs whose nomination papers, after culminating in the scrutiny stage, have been rejected by the ECP.
In a major setback for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the ECP rejected the nomination papers of its incarcerated founder Imran Khan — from NA-122 and NA-89 — along with party's Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s nomination papers from NA-150 and NA-151.
The party has since announced approaching the Supreme Court (SC) to challenge the rejection of nomination papers of top party leaders.
PTI leader and former Punjab health minister Dr Yasmin Rashid’s nomination papers from NA-130 were also rejected by the ECP, whereas Ejaz Chaudhry’s nomination papers failed to secure the ECP’s approval from NA-127.
The party’s nomination papers filed by PTI’s Mohammad Atif Khan (NA-22) and Naeem Haider Panjotha’s — Khan’s counsel— from NA-82, also failed to get approval from the top electoral body.
From NA-44, ECP rejected PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur’s documents — a decision the politician has announced to challenge in the high court tomorrow.
From PP-172, ECP rejected PTI’s Hammad Azhar’s nomination papers,
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