SC dismisses plea seeking disqualification of Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking disqualification of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. A three-member bench headed by Justice Umar Atta Bandial heard the plea. The plea was filed on the basis of dual nationality and ‘Iqama’. The returning officer had also dismissed the plea for disqualification of Syed Murad Ali Shah. Justice Muneeb Akhtar observed that the petitioner has not challenged the order of the returning officer at the legal forum. “Why did the petitioner file the petition despite having a proper forum?. It does not happen that a petition is filed to remove a man from a designation suddenly,” he observed. The court observed that the petitioner is a political rival of Murad Ali Shah. “The dismissal of the petition in the High Court is justified,” he added. Petitioner Roshan Ali Buriro had moved his appeal through his council Hamid Khan and Ajmal Toor. The appeal requested the SCP to set aside the SHC verdict and disqualify the Sindh CM as a member of the Sindh Assembly. The petitioner contended that Murad Ali Shah held the office of Sindh CM despite the fact that he possessed a foreign nationality. According to Roshan Buriro, CM Murad Ali Shah resigned as a member of Sindh Assembly when the members of national and provincial assemblies were directed to submit their affidavits for confirmation that they did not possess dual nationality. The petitioner alleged that CM resigned in order to evade the process which could have resulted in his disqualification, return of monetary benefits obtained as a member of provincial assembly (MPA) and criminal proceedings for false swearing of declaration. He further claimed that the SHC dismissed his petition purely on technical grounds instead of merits of case. He claimed that CM Murad Ali Shah hid his dual nationality from the authorities and signed a false declaration regarding the status of his nationality. According to Buriro, every citizen is required to disclose to the state officials as well as the electorate the matter of possessing nationality of another state.