ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) petition against the victory of Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and joint candidate of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in the Senate elections.
The petition, filed by Special Assistant to Prime Minister Ali Nawaz Awan, had challenged the victory of Yousuf Raza Gilani in Senate elections in the IHC and requested the court to declare Gillani’s win illegal and unconstitutional.
The verdict of the case was announced by Chief Justice Islamabad High Court Justice Athar Minaullah.
During the hearing, the petitioner said that the matter should be discussed in court. The court, however, said that the judiciary has complete faith in Parliament. The court instructed Awan to approach the Election Commission.
CJ IHC asked the petitioner why he is dragging the court into political matters? “Your party has moved ECP over the matter, let the body decide about the plea and later you can contact the IHC,” CJ Athar Minhallah remarked while binning the plea.
Justice Minaullah said that people should refrain from dragging courts in politics unnecessarily. The court also rejected Awan’s request on dismissing Ali Haider Gillani as a Punjab Assembly member.
Gilani’s son Kasim Gilani in his tweet announce this news “IHC has rejected @PTIofficial’s bogus petition against Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani’s victory in the Senate and also rejected a petition against @ahaidergilani86.”
Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday also rejected the plea seeking a stay on the victory notification of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as a Senator.
According to the reports, during the hearing on the matter of former premier’s son Ali Haider Gillani’s video scandal, PTI lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar, Parliamentary Leader for Railways Farrukh Habib and member of National Assembly (MNA) Kanwal Shauzab appeared before the commission and recorded their arguments.
Barrister Ali Zafar claimed that rigging was carried out during the Senate polls through money and party tickets. Evidence of rigging was found a day before the elections.
The member of ECP in Punjab said that the PTI lawyer has already provided the transcript of the leaked video. Punjab member asked about making those who were offered money as a party in the case over which, Barrister Ali Zafar said that they cannot be made party but the court can call them as witnesses.
“The one who takes a bribe and the one who gives it, both are accused,” a Punjab member said.
The ECP while directing the PTI leaders to club all the pleas a petition and submit it again with the electoral body. Those who took the money and those who gave must be made respondents in the petition, the ECP directed.
Previously, the ECP had scheduled the hearing for March 11, but it was rescheduled for today after protests by the PTI leaders.
The petition was filed by the ruling party to block Yousuf Raza Gillani’s victory notification in the Senate election. On March 2, a video of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani’s son, Ali Haider, surfaced on social media in which he was allegedly instructing parliamentarians on how to waste their vote in the Senate polls.
Meanwhile, Gilani’s son Kasim Gilani in his tweet stated that “A bogus petition has been filed against Yousaf Raza Gilani and Ali Haider Gillani in the ECP. Our lawyers will not only respond to this malicious case, they will be filling petitions against MNA’s involved in making a deceitful video.”
On the other side, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Monday nominated newly-elected Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Senator Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani as a joint candidate in the forthcoming Senate chairman election.
PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman chaired a meeting of PDM leaders at Sindh House in Islamabad which was attended by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz and others.
PPP nominated Yousuf Raza Gilani for Senate chairman as PML-N and Awami National Party (ANP) also supported candidature from the platform of the Pakistan Democratic Movement.
