Haleem Adil Sheikh contested from NA-238, Arsalan Khalid from NA-248, and Advocate Khalid Mehmood stood as an independent candidate from NA-231.
KARACHI: Three independent candidates affiliated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have initiated legal proceedings at the Sindh High Court (SHC), contesting the provisional results of the National Assembly seats they vied for in the February 8 general elections.
Former PTI provincial president Haleem Adil Sheikh contested from NA-238 (Karachi-East), Arsalan Khalid from NA-248 (Karachi-Central), and Advocate Khalid Mehmood stood as an independent candidate from NA-231 (Malir).
Each candidate filed separate petitions before the SHC, naming the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), provincial election commissioner, returning officers (ROs) concerned, inspector general of police, and others as respondents, Dawn News reported on Sunday.
The cases have been filed against the victories of Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan’s (MQM-P) Sadiq Iftikhar and Khalid Maqbool and Pakistan Peoples’ Party’s (PPP) Hakeem Baloch.
In their petitions, represented by lawyer Ali Tahir, the candidates argued that despite their affiliation with the PTI, they were labelled as independent candidates by the ROs after their party lost its electoral symbol.
They alleged that electoral laws were flouted and the entire election process was marred by rigging. Despite leading by significant margins according to Form-45 obtained from polling stations, the provisional results displayed them as runners-up in Form-47.
Furthermore, they claimed their polling agents were ejected from RO offices without explanation before the consolidation of results commenced.
The petitioners demanded the SHC to nullify the contested provisional results and instructed the respondents to prepare Form-47 anew in the presence of their polling agents, adhering to election rules.
Underlining the violation of electoral laws and constitutional provisions during the elections, the petitioners highlighted instances where they were poised for victory but were allegedly thwarted by irregularities.
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The petitions are scheduled for hearing on Monday, with legal support from Advocate Jibran Nasir, who himself have lost the election on provincial assembly seat from PS-110.
