KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) dismissed on Monday an appeal challenging the acceptance of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Palwasha Khan’s nomination papers for the Senate elections.
A two-judge bench of the court comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Amjad Ali Sahito heard the appeal. During the hearing, the appellant’s lawyer contended that the PPP candidate got her vote transferred fraudulently to Karachi to contest the Senate polls from Sindh.
The court observed that the law allows vote transfer. The bench questioned how the transfer of vote from Punjab and Sindh is a violation of the law. The court asked how a candidate could be disqualified through a writ petition. Justice Mazhar observed the court is not an appellate tribunal to examine documents. The plea was later dismissed.
On February 22, an election tribunal had rejected a plea against the acceptance of Palwasha Khan’s nomination papers for the upcoming Senate elections. An appeal challenging the tribunal’s verdict was subsequently filed before the SHC.
The appellant stated that Palwasha Khan got her vote transferred from Punjab to Karachi overnight to contest the Senate elections on a reserved seat for women from Sindh. The vote transfer is a violation of Article 220 and 226 of the Constitution, he said.
