NA-89 Jhang: PML-N MNA to challenge disqualification in SC

LAHORE: With the endorsement of the Pakistan Muslim League’s parliamentary board, disqualified MNA Sheikh Muhammad Akram is set to contest his removal in the Supreme Court as his party sees no “solid reason” for the tribunal’s ruling to remove him. Faisalabad Election Tribunal judge Javed Yousaf on Wednesday disqualified Akram, who was elected from Jhang (NA-89). The tribunal has directed the Election Commission of Punjab to notify that the runner-up candidate, Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, is elected. Ludhianvi in his petition had alleged that Akram was not eligible as envisaged by Articles 62 and 63 of the constitution as he did not fulfill the condition of being “sadiq and ameen” (truthful and trustworthy). In an informal meeting, several senior PML-N members from the party’s parliamentary board deliberated over the development, and felt that Akram’s disqualification had no substantial basis as there is no issue of rigging or a forged degree. The disqualified candidate told the board that the tribunal’s decision is based on an old FIR lodged against him. According to Akram, the FIR is about a bus accident, on the basis of which the tribunal disqualified him. The board asked him to hire a competent lawyer who can contest his case in the Supreme Court as it hopes that the apex court will set the tribunal’s decision aside. The board also directed Akram to reconcile his enmity with the applicants of the FIR which was lodged against his transport company and himself. There may be a delay in the notification of Ludhianvi as the new MNA as Akram will appeal his case. PML-N’s parliamentary leader on information in the Punjab Assembly, Rana Muhammad Arshad said that Akram is their ticket holder who has the right of appeal. While he said that the party would support its man, it would respect the Supreme Court’s decision either way. While talking to The Express Tribune, Ludhianvi said that the ECP has not yet issued any notification for his victory. He said that if the aggrieved party moves the SC he would contest the case there as well. He also said that the ECP should issue a notification for his election today (Friday), as a further delay seems illogical. NA-89 has long been an ASWJ hub. In 1988, when it was known as Sipah-i-Sahaba, its founder Haq Nawaz Jhangvi won 39,000 votes in this constituency, but lost out to Begum Abida Hussain. However, he vowed that Abida Hussain would quit the constituency. In 1990, Hussain contested the election from elsewhere, though Jhangvi had been killed by then. Maulana Isarul Qasmi won the NA-89 seat as well as the PP-77 Punjab Assembly seat in 1990, defeating the PML-N’s Sheikh Yusuf. Qasmi too was killed, but the party remained in control of the constituency. Sipah-i-Sahaba’s Azam Tariq won both seats by a wide margin in 1993, the loser again being Yusuf. The PPP’s Nawab Amanullah Khan Sial won the seat in 1997, while Azam Tariq again won it in 2002. After Tariq was assassinated, Sheikh Waqas Akram won the seat in a by-election as a candidate of the PML-Q and retained it in the 2008 elections. Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2014.