A member of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has said that the commission does not decide cases on the basis of party affiliation or watching the faces, it decides cases by the book.
These remarks were given by ECP member from KP Irshad Qaiser while talking to the counsel for ruling Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) member Faisal Vawda in a case seeking his disqualification on Thursday.
A four-member bench of the ECP, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, is hearing three petitions against dual nationality of former MNA Vawda.
Irsahq Qaiser had a heated exchange of arguments with Vawda’s lawyer. He said that the ECP can send the case to the session’s judge. The lawyer argued that the ECP cannot do that. In response, Irshad said that we can.
“There are a lot of cases like this. We don’t judge by looking at anyone’s face or political party, we go by the book,” he added.
During the hearing, Vawda came to the rostrum and stated that if he had committed a crime, hang him, but not before listening to his arguments.
He alleged that he was being victimised. Attempts are being made to destroy his political career, he added.
His lawyer argued that his client has resigned from the National Assembly, hence the petitions seeking his disqualification has become infructuous. He has been elected a senator in the recently held elections, he added.
Barrister Jahangir Khan Jadoon, the counsel for one of the petitioners, said that Vawda misrepresented in the June 11, 2018, affidavit he filed with the ECP before the general elections that he had quit his American nationality.
He said Vawda was an American national at that time but he fibbed in the affidavit, adding he held the US citizenship even when his nomination papers were being scrutinised.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar said that the situation has changed after the resignation of Vawda from the National Assembly and directed the petitioner to submit written reply on next date of hearing on April 6.
