LAHORE - The Lahore High Court Monday stayed victory notifications of PML-N leaders Kh Asif, Syed Qutab Shah and Rana Sanaullah as their rivals challenged their success in the July 25 general elections.
The LHC stayed the victory of Kh Asif on NA-73 (Sialkot) till vote recount in a plea filed by PTI candidate Usman Dar, the rival contestant from the seat. Dar argued that he was defeated by a margin of 1,406 votes while 7,346 votes were rejected. According to him, he sought recounting, but the returning officer rejected his plea.
Through another petition, PTI’s Sonia Reza Ali challenged the success of Syed Qutab Shah on PP-123 (Toba Tek Singh). She contended that she lost only with a margin of 70 votes at a time when there were many complaints of vote counting. The court summoned the respondents for today, staying the issuance of victory notification of Qutab.
The LHC stopped the ECP from issuing the victory notification of former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah in NA-106 Faisalabad constituency, following PTI candidate Dr Nisar Ahmed challenged the victory. Nisar pleaded that the former law minister had allegedly caused harm to the sanctity of Islam by his remarks on Haj on the arrival of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz. Sanaullah faced severe backlash over his statement but the former minister claimed his remarks were ‘quoted out of context and was misunderstood’.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan approached the Supreme Court against the Lahore High Court’s decision ordering a recount of votes in Lahore’s NA-131.
The PTI leader Babar Awan submitted an appeal in the SC on behalf of Imran. Imran was declared the winner even after a recount of the rejected votes, Awan said.
On August 4, the LHC had ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan to recount the votes in NA-131 on the PML-N’s petition.
The court had also barred the ECP from issuing a notification declaring Imran the winning candidate from the constituency.
PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique, who lost the election to PTI chief Imran by 680 votes, had approached the court for the recount.
Imran had received 84,313 votes while Rafique got 83,633 votes. Earlier, the returning officer had dismissed Rafique’s application for a vote recount.
Through another petition, PML-N leader for PP-151 – Lahore Baqir Hussain approached the LHC seeking recounting of votes. The PML-N leader challenged the victory of PTI candidate Mian Aslam Iqbal, who is among leaders being considered for the post of Punjab chief minister. The petitioner contended that Form 45 results were not given to his polling agents, and that the presiding officer declared valid the rejected votes of the rival candidate.
Also, PPP leader Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat (NA-114 –Jhang) approached the LHC for recounting of votes on the seat. He was defeated by PTI’s Mehboob Sultan. His petition said that he lost by a margin of 589 votes while the number of rejected votes stood at 12,970. He contended that his application for vote recounting was rejected by the returning officer.
Victory notifications of three PML-N men stayed