Pervaiz Elahi allowed to contest Feb 8 polls

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday allowed incarcerated party president Pervaiz Elahi to contest the upcoming February 8 elections, ARY News reported.

A three-member SC bench headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah allowed the PTI leader to contest the general election from the PP-32 constituency of Gujarat district.

Elahi had filed a petition in the Supreme Court to seek permission to contest the general election. He made the election commission and appellate tribunal as respondents.

He pleaded to the apex court to declare January 13, 2024, decision of the Lahore High Court as void.

The high court had dismissed his appeal regarding the rejection of his nomination papers by the returning officer. He contested this decision in the election appellate tribunal, where his appeal was also dismissed.

The PTI president pleaded to the apex court that his nomination papers were rejected on the objection of a candidate Muhammad Saleem.

“He objected that I have shares in a flour mill, while that mill has been inoperative, even the bank account was not opened,” Elahi said in his petition. “I didn’t buy shares of the flour mill and an inoperative mill could not be deemed an asset,” he pleaded.

“I could not be prohibited from contesting election over this objection,” he said. “The shares that are being attributed to me have total value of 24,850 rupees,” Elahi said. “I have declared 175 million rupees assets including a cash of over 57 million rupees,” Pervaiz Elahi said.

“Not to declare the shares of this meagre value by me could not be termed as malicious intent,” he petitioned.

“There is another objection that I didn’t declare seven arms licenses. There is no column to fill in nomination papers with regard to arms license,” he argued.

Pervaiz Elahi is among several PTI leaders and supporters who have been apprehended as part of the crackdown on PTI leadership following the violent unrest in the country after Imran Khan’s initial arrest on May 9.

It may be noted that Elahi has been arrested multiple times since June 1 in several cases, with the latest to be made on September 18 the Punjab ACE.