SC rejects petition seeking Sheikh Rasheed's disqualification

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a plea seeking disqualification of Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed on Wednesday. A three-member bench headed by Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and comprising Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah rejected the petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Shakeel Awan.Rasheed reached the premises of the apex court Wednesday morning. The petition, filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Shakeel Awan, who lost the 2013 general election to Rasheed, claimed that the AML chief mis-declared his assets in his nomination papers and owned the error as well. Speaking to the journalists outside the court, he said that he is a great humble, grateful and kind person. He added that God blessed on him today and gave him honour again. " My nephews asked me to not appear before the court, but I told them that I have done nothing wrong and do not hide anything," Sheikh Rasheed said. "Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif I am coming, he called, saying that I will support to PTI chief Imran Khan for making next government. He also said that those who wants to see his political death, but he wants to see them political alive. The AML chief said that his opponents tried to make this decision as politics but this verdict will become their political death. He also remarked that if the court verdict declared him disqualified, he must respect the decision because he is not Nawaz Sharif. He claimed that he wil punidh and hang these looters, adding that he will completely put his effort to support for making Imran Khan's government in the general election 2018. On the occasion, petitioner Shakil Awan said that to get justice in this country is very difficult. He said that the SC announce verdict against Nawaz Sharif was in the Panama case but decision was taken on the base of Iqamah. He further said that he always respected the courts and they would take help to get justice from the courts in future. Earlier, during hearing of the petition, Awan’s counsel had argued before the three-member bench that according to the Representation of People’s Act, it was necessary to accurately declare all of one’s assets before contesting elections. He had asserted that the most recent court case regarding the wrong filling of nomination papers was the 2017 Panama Papers judgment by the apex court. Rasheed’s counsel, on the other hand, had contended that his client did not conceal anything and accepted that his client had owned the mistake in valuing his assets. Justice Qazi Faez Isa, during the earlier hearing, had remarked that according to the petitioner, whatever the error was, the lawmaker should be disqualified. The question was whether a lawmaker stood disqualified if it was proved that he or she had committed an error while filling out the nomination papers or his/her assets, Justice Saeed had observed.