PHC overturns disqualification of PTI MPA

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday overturned the Election Commission of Pakistan decision of disqualifying the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Member Provincial Assembly Abdul Munim Khan and ordered restoration of his membership.

A division bench comprising Justice Ikramullah Khan and Justice Abdul Shakoor Khan allowed the writ petition of the PTI MPA from Shangla, who is also special assistant to KP Chief Minister on Tourism, filed against his disqualification.

The ECP disqualified the PTI MPA on April 19 on allegations that he was a serving government schoolteacher before the 2013 elections. The ECP announced the decision on the complaint filed by a rival candidate from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl Sher Alam Khan.

He had claimed that the special assistant to the KP chief minister was a primary schoolteacher in the Kohistan district. According to the law, a government servant could not contest elections unless there was a two years gap in the time he retired from service.

The lawmaker later challenged the decision in the high court. The court suspended the order till decision in the case and thus he remained as advisor after obtaining a stay order. During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyers Abdul Latif Afridi and Barrister Waqar Khan submitted before the bench that the complainant, who was a rival candidate from JUI-F, had levelled baseless allegations against the petitioner that he was a schoolteacher.

They submitted that the rival candidate provided certain documents to the media first, which included service book, salary slips and other particulars allegedly of the petitioner. It was submitted that the petitioner filed an application on December 19, last year before the Anti-Corruption Establishment to probe the matter.

The lawyers submitted an open inquiry was ordered by the ACE and the investigation was in progress, but the rival candidate filed an application with the ECP for disqualification of the petitioner.

They submitted that the ECP disqualified the petitioner on April 19. The petitioner’s claimed that he was neither appointed schoolteacher, nor drew any salaries or benefits. He termed the documents presented by the complainant as fake and forged.

It was stated that as per the ACE acquired record it was explained that once the petitioner was appointed as teacher in 1987 in a project called “Nai Roshni Schools” in his own village and then in 1988 he withdraw his five months’ salary at once and the project came to an end. They lawyers prayed the court to declare the ECP order null and void and restore membership of the petitioner as MPA.