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ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday revoked the lifetime disqualification of former PTI leader Faisal Vawda after he tendered an unconditional apology for lying about concealing his dual nationality at the time of participating in the National Assembly election on a Karachi seat during 2018 General Elections.
Also read: SC asks Faisal Vawda to admit mistake in disqualification case
The SC had summoned Vawda on Friday (today) to give him a chance to express his regret for mis-stating his dual nationality before the top court. The former senator was also required to show the certificate of renunciation of his US nationality before the court.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Ayesha Malik, heard Vawda’s appeal against Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict, which had upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) verdict for his disqualification over dual nationalities.
Also read: Misappropriation of funds from UK: Shahzad Akbar misled cabinet, says Vawda
During the course or proceedings today, CJP Bandia asked Vawda to admit his mistake and face one-time disqualification, otherwise the top court will initiate proceedings under 62(1)(f) of the Constitution.
The chief justice remarked that the court has enough material to disqualify Faisal Vawda for life if he did not accept his mistake.
Also read: ‘Long march will be peaceful’, PTI refutes Vawda’s claim, decides to issue him notice
Accepting his apology, the apex court ruled that Vawda was disqualified under Article 63(1)(c) and not Article 62(1)(f) — the same law that was used to impose a lifetime ban on former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from contesting elections.
Case Background:
Vawda was disqualified for life under Article 62(1)(f) by the ECP for hiding his dual nationality at the time of filing nomination papers for 2018 elections.
In his petition, the petitioner pleaded that it had been held by the Supreme Court in the 2021 Allah Dino Bhayo case that the commission was not a court of law within the context of Article 62(1)(f). Moreover, this year, in the Muhammad Sulman case, the apex court had also held that the commission had no jurisdiction either under Article 218(3) of the Constitution or Section 9(1) of the Elections Act 2017 to deal with qualification or disqualification of a returned candidate.
Thus, the Feb 9 disqualification order of the ECP clearly negated the assumption of jurisdiction by the commission to disqualify Vawda for life, the petition stated.
