The Election Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday rejected the nomination papers of some major leaders, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan and former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Dawn reported. They have the right to appeal against the decision before appellate tribunals.
The tenure of Abbasi’s government had ended on May 31. Former chief justice Nasir Ul Mulk is the interim prime minister until the general elections on July 25, when voters will choose representatives for the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies.
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s nomination papers were rejected after the returning officer found he had not submitted complete tax returns. Abbasi was prime minister from August 2017 to May 2018.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s papers were accepted in three Assembly constituencies, but were rejected in two – one on technical grounds and the other for being incomplete.
The papers of some family members of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif – Maryam Nawaz, Shahbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz – were accepted. Shahbaz Sharif is his brother and former chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province. Hamza Shahbaz is Shahbaz Sharif’s son, while Maryam Nawaz is Nawaz Sharif’s daughter.
Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s nomination papers for two constituencies were accepted, and so were his father Asif Ali Zardari’s.
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