PESHAWAR – An appellate tribunal on Monday overturned the initial rejection of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior member Azam Swati and Murad Saeed’s nomination papers for the upcoming Senate election scheduled for April 2.
The tribunal approved the nomination papers of Murad Saeed for the upcoming Senate election. Saeed’s appeal against the rejection of his nomination papers by the election commission was accepted by the tribunal.
Previously, the Election Commission had rejected the nomination papers of several senior leaders of the PTI, nominated from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on general and technocrat seats.
The tribunal, established by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to address election-related grievances, heard Swati’s appeal against the rejection of his nomination papers.
During the hearing presided over by Justice Shakeel Ahmad, lawyers from both sides presented their arguments. The judge inquired about the grounds on which the nominations were rejected.
Swati’s lawyer informed Justice Ahmad that three individuals had filed objections against his client’s nomination, out of which two were not candidates in the upcoming election. The lawyer elaborated on the objections raised before the tribunal.
It was revealed that Swati had provided details of cases against him in his nominations for the Senate election, which were not disclosed during previous general elections.
The complainant’s lawyer argued that 16 years of education and 20 years of experience were required for senatorship on the technocrat seat.
Justice Ahmad pointed out that Swati had previously served as a senator and had actively participated in legislative processes in different committees of the upper house of parliament.
