The foreign passport that PTI leader Vawda submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as proof of the renunciation of his US nationality was already expired, the Supreme Court observed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The observation was made by Justice Ayesha Malik, who was part of a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and also comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, hearing Vawda\u2019s appeal against his disqualification for life under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution.<\/p>\n
In February, the ECP disqualified Vawda for concealing his US citizenship and directed him to return the salary and other benefits he had received as a minister and as a member of the National Assembly, within two months. It had also de-notified him as a senator.<\/p>\n
During today\u2019s hearing, his lawyer contended that the returning officer (RO) had seen Vawda\u2019s cancelled passport.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the cancelled passport that you are relying on was expired,\u201d noted Justice Malik. She said the cancelled passport was submitted to the RO in 2018, but it had expired in 2015.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get a new passport made, the older one is stamped as cancelled,\u201d Justice Malik added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can a cancelled passport be proof of renunciation of a nationality?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
Moreover, she noted that the passport numbers of the one on record and the one cancelled were different.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is evident by different numbers that a new passport was issued after being long overdue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Following her observations, the CJP remarked that this matter had become \u201cvery serious\u201d.<\/p>\n
Justice Masoor commented that \u201canother of Vawda\u2019s lies is out in the open\u201d.<\/p>\n
Vawda\u2019s lawyer then contended that the text of the affidavit \u2014 which Vawda had submitted at the time of the filing of his nomination papers for a National Assembly constituency \u2014 elaborated that the PTI leader did not hold the passport of another country.<\/p>\n
At that, Justice Shah said the mention of the \u201cpassport in the affidavit meant having the nationality of another country\u201d.<\/p>\n
The lawyer then argued that the ECP did not have the authority to disqualify a person for life.<\/p>\n
But the high court does have the authority to disqualify an individual for life, replied Justice Shah.<\/p>\n
Vawda\u2019s lawyer sought more time from the court for preparation.<\/p>\n
At that, the court adjourned the hearing, with Justice Shah commenting, \u201cYou will not have answers to these questions even next week.\u201d<\/p>\n
The confirmed date of the next hearing is yet to be issued.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The foreign passport that PTI leader Vawda submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as proof of the renunciation of his US nationality was already expired, the Supreme Court observed on Wednesday. The observation was made by Justice Ayesha Malik, who was part of a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11129,3883],"class_list":{"0":"post-290277","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national","8":"tag-expired-passport","9":"tag-faisal-vawda"},"yoast_head":"\n