Kulsoom Nawaz's nomination papers challenged in LHC

LAHORE: Another petition, seeking cancellation of Begum Kulsoom Nawaz’s nomination papers for upcoming NA-120 by-election, has been filed on Saturday in Lahore High Court (LHC), ARY News reported.

The petition has been filed by Advocate Sarfaraz Hussain.

This is the fourth petition of its kind filed today, challenging the nomination papers of deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’ wife.

A full bench of the high court will hear the four petitions against nomination papers of the PML-N candidate on September 11.

The petitioner has adopted a stance that the ruling party’s candidate had concealed her foreign work permit besides she has been facing a treason case, hence her nomination papers should be cancelled.

Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had approved nomination papers of former PM Nawaz Sharif’s wife Begum Kulsoom Nawaz to contest the by-election and rejected all objections made on her nomination.

The NA-120 seat, Lahore-III, fell vacant after the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified Nawaz Sharif as the premier of the country, and asked ECP to issue a notification removing him as a member of the National Assembly.

On July 28, A five-judge Supreme Court bench disqualified then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a unanimous verdict in the Panamagate case, thus cutting short his third stint in power.

Soon after the SC judgement, the PM House issued a terse statement saying that Nawaz Sharif, despite having reservations on the SC’s verdict, has stepped down from his post as the premier.

Sharif served as prime minister twice in the 1990s before he himself was ousted in a 1999 coup leading to a decade of exile. He won a third term as prime minister in a 2013 election.