KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday rejected a petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against the success of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate Abdul Hakeem Baloch in the by-election of NA-237.
“Have you gone to the election tribunal?” the court asked a question from the lawyer for the PTI.
“If there is any irregularity or rigging, you have the option of going to the election tribunal,” the court said to him.
“We had gone to the election commission, but the door was not opened [for us],” PTI’s lawyer Shahab Imam Advocate said.
“The option to go to the election tribunal is there only after the election is over,” he added.
The judge then asked the PTI lawyer did he know where the election tribunal is?
The PTI had on Tuesday last challenged the NA-237 by-election result in the
Sindh High Court (SHC). The plea moved by PTI Sindh President Ali Zaidi had
alleged that massive rigging had taken place during the by-election in
NA-237. The workers of the Pakistan People’s Party cast ‘fake’ votes during
Sunday’s by-poll, the plea had further said.
The SHC had been prayed to order an impartial inquiry into the matter.
On Sunday, PPP candidate Abdul Hakeem Baloch had defeated former prime
minister Imran Khan in Karachi’s NA-237 Malir constituency. PPP candidate
had obtained 32,567 votes while Imran Khan stood second with 22,493 votes,
as per unofficial result.
Later in a news conference, the former prime minister had demanded the
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold re-election in Karachi’s
NA-237 constituency, accusing Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) resorting to
‘rigging’.
