Ayaz Sadiq to pray SC to suspend cost of suit

ISLAMABAD: Former National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, who was disqualified by a Lahore election tribunal on August 22, is seeking from the Supreme Court suspension of imposition of Rs2.8 million as cost of the suit.
“Through my appeal, I will pray for partial suspension of the ruling only relating to the cost but will not apply for stay order against my unjust unseating,” he told The News.
He said he was yet to know the actual cost imposed on him by the tribunal judge, Kazim Ali Malik, in his decision.
The ruling said that the petition, filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, “stands allowed with cost” as mentioned in the memo of cost. The memo was submitted by the PTI.
Ayaz Sadiq said that presently he was not aware of the exact cost, but believed that it came to around Rs2.8 million.
The imposition of cost shows that none of the documents filed by the former speaker or statements or arguments given by him or his lawyers impressed the presiding officer of the tribunal.
Anis Hashmi, who was a member of Imran Khan’s legal team that fought his case in the tribunal, told The News that the memo of cost mentioned Rs2.387 million as the expenses incurred on seeking verification of voters’ thumbprints by his client from the National Database & Registration Authority (Nadra). This money would be paid to the PTI for having been disbursed by it to the Nadra for the purpose, he said.
Ayaz Sadiq said that as per the decision taken by his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), he would not demand overturning of the main judgement of the tribunal relating to his ouster as a member of the National Assembly.
As per the majority decision taken by the PML-N four days back in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, its same candidates - Ayaz Sadiq and Khawaja Saad Rafique - who had vied for the two National Assembly seats NA-122 and NA-125 Lahore, will contest for the same while it is yet to surface as to who would be fielded in NA-154 Lodhran.
For NA-154 seat Lodhran, the PML-N is likely to field a close relative of Siddique Baloch, who was disqualified by the Multan election tribunal for life for having a fake educational degree on August 26. Besides, he was also unseated due to irregularities committed by the election staff on the polling day in the 2013 general elections.
The PML-N is also considering Rafiuddin Bokhari as its candidate in Lodhran. He was its nominee in the 2013 polls from the same constituency.
Its effort is to wage a firm cooperation between Baloch and Bokhari so that their personal votes are put in the same basket in the by-election.
As an independent candidate, Baloch had secured 86,177 voters compared to 75,955 ballots of PTI’s runner-up Jehangir Tareen and Bokhari’s 45,634 votes. Baloch had later joined the PML-N and continues to stand with it.
The PML-N has apprehensions that the tribunal’s decision disqualifying Baloch for having bogus degree may not be overturned by the Supreme Court, if challenged.