LAHORE: The nomination papers of Meher Ishtiaq Ahmad, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate for by-election in PP-158, were rejected on Saturday. Pronouncing the reserved verdict, Returning Officer (RO) Syed Basit Ali said that Ishtiaq had submitted his papers after the office timings. “And since papers submitted after the office timings could not be accepted, therefore, they were rejected,” he said while reading out the verdict. Mian Amjad Iqbal, the rival candidate, had challenged the submission of papers by Ishtiaq. Earlier, giving his arguments in the case, Amjad’s counsel Ishfaq Ahmad Malik Advocate said that by submitting the papers after the office timings, the PML-N candidate had violated the Election Act. “Therefore, it is prayed that his papers are rejected,” he said. On the other hand, Meher Muhammad Jahangir Advocate, representing the defendant, claimed that his client had submitted his papers on time. He argued that even if the papers were submitted after the working hours, these could not be rejected. “The rival candidate instead of facing my client in the election is making a minor mistake on his opponent’s part an excuse to challenge his candidature,” he concluded.
