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Candidates not bound to appear before ROs for nomination papers scrutiny: ex-ECP secretary

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  • Election Act says candidate not required to be present.
  • ECP amended Election Order 2002 in 2007, says Dilshad. 
  • Scrutiny of nomination papers will last till December 30.

ISLAMABAD: Former Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) secretary Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad has said that a candidate does not need to appear before the returning officer while filing nomination papers or during scrutiny, The News reported Wednesday. 

Dilshad’s statement came after it was reported that the nomination papers of such candidates who are in hiding or declared proclaimed offenders are at risk of being rejected if they do not turn up before their relevant ROs upon summoning. 

According to Section 62 of the Election Act, 2017, the candidate is not required to be present at the time of scrutiny of nomination papers.

The former ECP secretary said that an election order was issued by former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf in 2002, under which the candidate was required to be present while filing nomination papers.

Dilshad said the election order was malicious and aimed at targeting former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif so that they could not appear before the returning officer. 

He said that in 2007, the ECP amended the Election Order 2002, after which Bhutto and Sharif did not need to submit their nomination papers and appear in person at the time of scrutiny.

“At the time of scrutiny of nomination papers, the candidate’s election agent, proposer and a voter who has registered an objection under sub-section (1) shall be present. The returning officer shall give him reasonable opportunity of scrutinising all nomination papers. Nowhere in this section is mentioned that the candidate must be present before the returning officer at the time of submission of nomination papers or scrutiny,” he added.

He said it was a very important legal point that every candidate needed to understand. He maintained that 32,000 nomination papers had been filed, which was a record. “With this, the talk of snatching nomination papers of some candidates became ineffective,” he claimed.

The scrutiny will last till Saturday (December 30). As per the ECP, appeals against acceptance or rejection of nomination papers can be filed by January 3, 2024, which will be decided by January 10, 2024.

The Election Commission will publish the revised list of candidates on January 11, 2024, while candidates can withdraw their papers by January 12, 2024.

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The PPP and PML-N will confer on power-sharing arrangements in Punjab today.

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The coordination committees of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are scheduled to convene today at the Governor’s House in Lahore to deliberate on power-sharing arrangements in Punjab.

The PPP delegation would comprise Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Mahmood, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Hassan Murtaza, and Ali Haider Gilani.

Ishaq Dar, Azam Nazir Tarar, Rana Sanaullah, Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, and Maryam Aurangzeb will represent the PML-N.

The conference will discuss local issues in Punjab and offer a forum for the PPP to express its concerns over its collaboration with PML-N in the province.

Both parties seek to fortify their partnership and optimize governance techniques in Punjab.

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Sheikh Rasheed says PTI and government negotiations won’t provide any results.

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Sheikh Rasheed voiced his worries about the nation’s ongoing political dilemma while speaking outside the Anti-Terrorism Court.

According to Sheikh Rasheed, a committee was established to negotiate, but the process has not produced any tangible results. In order to emphasize the seriousness of the situation, he said, “Political conditions are extremely bad.”

He made the joke, “Even after war, if negotiations fail, then it will all come down to judo karate,” in reference to the next steps.

“Everyone there prays for Pakistan’s betterment,” Sheikh Rasheed, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, said. He emphasized the necessity for the nation’s circumstances to improve and stabilize.

Assad Qaiser, a former speaker and PTI leader, had earlier called on Speaker Ayaz Sadiq of the National Assembly to discuss the official start of talks with the government.

The two leaders shared their opinions on bringing parties together on matters of national importance and reducing political tensions and conflict.

“I will persuade my people, you persuade the hardliners in your party,” Ayaz Sadiq said to Assad Qaiser.

The party’s founder is in jail, and the PTI leadership has asked to meet with him. “We will continue to confer with him,” Assad Qaiser declared.

Earlier, PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai stated that if the discussions don’t begin, a campaign of civil disobedience will begin on December 14.

Speaking to the media Regarding the meetings, Yousafzai claimed that the government ministers were making insincere remarks.

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Bushra Bibi maintains bail as the IHC concludes the FIA’s petition.

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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) conducted a hearing about the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) plea for the revocation of Bushra Bibi’s bail.

The court, led by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, rejected the FIA’s petition during the hearing.

Judicial Proceedings

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb sought information regarding Bushra Bibi’s location, to which her attorney, Barrister Salman Safdar, affirmed her attendance in court.

The judge urged the counsel to regard the matters with gravity, underscoring the necessity of adherence to trial protocols.

The court sought details about instances where Bushra Bibi had been exempted from attending trial hearings and clarified that if the High Court grants bail and the accused fails to appear, the trial court holds the authority to cancel the bail.

Justice Aurangzeb assured that such actions would not amount to contempt of the High Court’s order.

Based on these considerations, the court closed the proceedings and dismissed the FIA’s plea.

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