SHC tosses out Shahbaz’s plea against Vawda

By News Desk

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif seeking the disqualification of Water Resources Minister Faisal Vawda over his victory in Karachi’s NA-249 constituency.

A single bench of comprising Justice Yousaf Ali Sayeed tossed out the plea. Sharif, also the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, had competed against Vawda in the same constituency, losing to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate by a narrow margin during the general election last year. In his plea, Sharif challenged the validity of the notified success of his rival in NA-249, and referred to the close margin of votes secured by him (34,628 votes)and Vawda (35,349 votes). Sharif claimed proper procedures were not followed, in particular, the context of rejection of votes polled in the constituency.Later, Vawda said the petition’s rejection reflects a “victory of the righteous”.