SC rejects petitions challenging Kulsoom's candidacy for NA-120

LAHORE: A day after former prime minister’s wife Kulsoom Nawaz won back her husband’s former seat, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court dismissed two identical petitions questioning a verdict of the Lahore High Court (LHC) that allowed her to contest the NA-120 by-election.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate won the NA-120 by-election with 61, 254 votes on Sunday, defeating Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Dr. Yasmin Rashid who secured 47,066 votes.

The three-judge bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed, dismissed the petitions filed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).

Both the parties approached the apex court requesting it to declare the verdict of LHC as illegal and unconstitutional and restrain the PML-N’s candidate Kulsoom Nawaz from contesting the by-election.

Earlier on Sept 13, a three-judge larger bench of the LHC had dismissed all petitions challenging the acceptance of Kulsoom’s nomination papers for the by-election in NA-120 constituency.

The petitioners stated that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate had kept secret the facts about Iqama and shares in companies. She did inform about holding of Iqama but did not mention the earning through it and details of bank accounts, they said.

The petitioners claimed the wife of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif deliberately hid facts from the nation, hence she was not eligible to contest elections and the decision of approval of her nomination papers by the returning officer should be revoked.