KARACHI: On Wednesday the (SHC) Sindh High Court said it will hear appeals filed by MQM-P and PTI leaders challenging an election tribunal’s order declaring them ineligible for Senate technocrat seats.
The separate pleas were filed by PTI’s Saifullah Abro and MQM-Pakistan’s Rauf Siddiqui.
Saifullah Abro, in his plea, argued that the tribunal gave the ruling in his case while “ignoring the facts”. He added that he meets all the requirements required from a person seeking a Senate seat as a technocrat.
He urged the court to declare the tribunal’s ruling as illegal and allow him to contest the Senate elections.
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The tribunal had declared Abro as ineligible after his nomination papers for a technocrat seat from Sindh, accepted by the returning officer (RO), were challenged by GM Khan and Shahid Ali last week.
The petitioners had contested the RO’s ruling on grounds that Abro does not meet the requirements of a technocrat as he has criminal cases registered against him, and was being investigated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). They had also alleged that the PTI leader had hidden assets to his name.
Abro’s lawyer had contested the claims laid before the tribunal, but failed to secure a favourable ruling for his client.
In its verdict, the tribunal declared the verdict of the RO null and void and ruled that Abro cannot contest the Senate polls.
“The objections raised by the petitioners were proved true and Saifullah Abro does not fulfil the requirement of a technocrat,” the order had stated.