Tuesday, Faisal Vawda challenges the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) verdict of disqualifying him for life as a lawmaker. He filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking annulment of ECP’s decision.
Faisal Vawda filed the petition challenging the ECP disqualification through his lawyer Advocate Wasim Sajjad.
According to reports, the petition contends that the ECP was not empowered to rule on disqualification and the decision has no legal status. Moreover, the petition also said that the ECP did not meet the legal requirements in its disqualification decision.
Read more: Court cannot disqualify Faisal Vawda, IHC
“The ECP announced its verdict without listening to my point of view,” the former PTI Senator said in his plea. He asked the IHC to cancel the ECP decision regarding his disqualification.
ECP disqualifies Faisal Vawda
In strict action, the ECP disqualified PTI senator Faisal Vawda as a lawmaker last week. The decision came in response to Faisal Vawda’s alleged concealment of his dual nationality at the time of contesting the National Assembly election on a Karachi seat in the 2018 general elections.
The ECP directed the PTI leader to return his salary, including all the benefits he enjoyed as Senator within two months. Furthermore, ECP withdrew the notification declaring Vawda’s victory on a Senate seat in polls held last year.
Most importantly, ECP also gave Vawda the right to reach out to the Supreme Court to challenge the verdict for his disqualification.
Read more: Faisal Vawda submitted false affidavit, IHC issues detailed order
After Jahangir Tareen, another PTI leader Faisal Vawda is disqualified for lifetime. Can Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is 'court of law' to disqualify a lawmaker under Article 62 (1) (f) of constitution?. Disqualification could be challenged in the Supreme Court.
— Hasnaat Malik (@HasnaatMalik) February 9, 2022
Faisal Vawda dual nationality case
To clarify, back in 2020, an investigative report by The News revealed that Vawda was a dual national at the time of filing nomination papers for general elections in 2018. He concealed his American nationality by submitting an oath to ECP that he did not have any foreign nationality. Meanwhile, he applied for the renunciation of his nationality with the US consulate at Karachi AFTER submitting his nomination papers.
Important to note, the Supreme Court of Pakistan in a past judgement has categorically ruled that candidates who hold dual nationality are supposed to submit a renunciation certificate of the foreign nationality along with their nomination papers. However, Vawda failed to do that.
Soon after, (PPP) lawmaker Qadir Khan Mandokhail, Mian Faisal, and Mian Asif Mehmood had filed a plea against Vawda, seeking his disqualification. Vawda did not respond to the petitions but resigned as an MNA in March 2021.
However, the IHC held him responsible for submitting a false affidavit regarding his nationality. It directed the ECP to proceed against him under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution that deals with disqualification.
Read more: Faisal Vawda snubs journalist Matiullah Jan for questioning dual nationality