Fazl to defend his independence day statement before court

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman on Saturday said he would repeat the same before the court as well what he had said on streets, ARY News reported.
A plea has been filed in a session court of Lahore against Fazl on his statement that he would not celebrate Independence Day.

Levelling allegations of rigging in the elections, he had said he would not celebrate Independence Day for his party was robbed of the right to vote.

Maulana Fazl held the Election Commission of Pakistan responsible for “rigging in the polls”. He lost polls on two National Assembly seats.

However, he said, his party would carry forward every struggle for Pakistan and its ideology. He said the JUI-F would take full part in elections of prime minister, speaker and deputy speaker and its candidate would be the same as nominated by the opposition.

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Shehbaz, Bilawal to be invited to Imran’s oath-taking ceremony: PTI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesman Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday said heads of all parliamentary parties, including Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, will be invited to Imran Khan’s oath-taking as prime minister.
The PTI claims to have garnered support of 180 members of the National Assembly and 200 of the Punjab Assembly.

Imran will take oath as PM on August 18.

Fawad Chaudhary said the demands of opposition will be considered.

“The parliament is the most important institution in democracy and in order to strengthen it, it is necessary to take opposition along,” he said.

He said the prime minister would himself be accountable to the parliament. He said the decision regarding residence of the PM would be made after security review.

He also told that PTI chairman Imran Khan had decided to retain the seat of NA-95 Mianwali.

The PTI spokesman said meeting of elected members of Punjab had been convened on August 14.

He said that three names had been shortlisted for the position of deputy speaker National Assembly.

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Ruet-e-Hilal Committee meets today to sight Zil-Haj moon

KARACHI: The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee will meet in Karachi this evening to sight the Zil-Haj moon which marks the advent of the 12th month in the lunar Islamic calendar.
Chairman of the Committee Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman will preside over the meeting.

The Zonal Ruet-e-Hilal Committees will also hold separate meetings to collect evidence of sighting of the moon.

Yesterday, Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court announced that the kingdom will mark August 12 as first day of the holy month of Zil-Haj.

According to Saudi Press Agency, the Saudi apex court announced this decision after a session presided over by the President of the Supreme Court Ghihab bin Mohammed al-Ghihab.

The kingdom marks Sunday (August 12) as first day of the holy month while Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on August 21.

Eid Al Adha, falls on the 10th day of Zil-Haj, is celebrated by Muslims around 70 days after Eid Al Fitr which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Also known as the Feast of Sacrifice is one of two Eid festivals celebrated by the Muslim faithful to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his own son to God. Traditionally marked by the slaughter of animals, whose meat is shared with family members and the poor.

The faithful slaughter their sacrificial animals in remembrance of Sunnat-e Ibrahimi, which continues for three days of Eid.

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Karnal Sher Khan’s brother bars Manzoor Pashteen from entering martyr’s tomb

SWABI: Criticisng his anti-army activities, brother of Kargil hero Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed stopped Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Manzoor Pashteen from entering the martyr’s tomb in Swabi, ARY News reported.

According to ARY News correspondent, the PTM leader arrived in Swabi to pay a visit to the martyr’s tomb but Sher Khan’s brother reached there and stopped Manzoor from entering the tomb’s premises.

“I have been following your activities on Facebook they are suspicious,” said Anwar Sher, the brother of Nishan-e-Haider recipient.

Addressing the Waziristan tribesmen accompanying Manzoor Pashteen, Anwar Sher added that his brother sacrificed his life for the country, “our Pathan brethren and Waziristan tribesmen”.

Anwar Sher’s protest forced Pashteen and his men to leave without visiting the tomb.

About Karnal Sher KhanKarnal Sher Khan was born on January 1, 1970, in Nawan Killi (Shewa Adda) village in Swabi.

He was commissioned in the Army on October 14, 1994. Captain Karnal Sher Khan emerged as the symbol of mettle and courage during the Kargil conflict on the Line of Control.

He set examples of bravery and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. He defended the five strategic posts, which he established with his soldiers at the height of 17,000 feet at Gultary, and repulsed many Indian attacks.

After many abortive attempts, the Indians on July 5, 1999 ringed the posts of Captain Karnal Sher Khan with the help of two battalions and unleashed heavy mortar fire and managed to capture some part of one of his posts.

Despite facing all odds, he led a counter-attack and re-captured the lost parts of his post.

But during the course, he was hit by the machine-gun fire and the brave son of soil embraced martyrdom at the same post.

He is one of only ten recipients of the Nishan-e-Haider, Pakistan’s highest military honour.

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PTI’s ‘chaiwala’ MNA-elect speaks up about owning assets worth millions

BAJAUR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) MNA-elect Gul Zafar Khan on Friday spoke to ARY News about the reports that he owns assets worth millions despite being introduced as a ‘chaiwala’ (tea-seller) by his party during July 25 elections.

Speaking during ARY News show ‘Sawal Yeh Hai’, Gul Zafar Khan said that he belongs to a noble family in tribal area bu back in 90s he rebelled against the prevalent system and had to leave his home and sell tea at a stall in Karachi.

“I worked in Karachi and sold tea from 1992 to 2002 and then two more years, so in total I worked as a tea-seller for 12 years,” said Gul Zafar.

He explained that the property he declared before Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was all inherited.

Gul Khan who clinched victory in NA-41 (Bajaur) was widely reported to be a ‘chaiwala’ but a look into documents submitted with ECP revealed that he has assets worth over Rs30 million in his name including optical and garment businesses and a non-custom paid luxury car.

Social media trolls were quick to call him a fraud but Zafar Khan maintains that he sacrificed and stayed away from his family and its property to pursue his political ambitions.

He also thanked PTI for putting its trust in him over influential families in tribal areas.

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PTI consolidates position in NA as MNAs take oath tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: The newly elected members of the National Assembly are set to take the oath on Monday (tomorrow).
The leader of the lower house of parliament, who automatically becomes prime minister of the country, will be elected on August 17, according to schedule.

After the oath of MNAs, the elections of the speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly will be held on August 15. Candidates up for the coveted posts will file their nomination papers to the speaker office on August 14.

The NA speaker will be elected first after which he will conduct the election of the deputy speaker.

The deadline for the submission of the nominations for prime minister office is 2:00 pm on August 16 as the election of the PM will be held the next day (August 17). President Mamnoon Hussain will administer the oath to the prime minister after his election.

It is pertinent to mention here that the PTI has nominated party chief Imran Khan as its candidate for the prime minister office.

It has nominated Asad Qaiser for the post of speaker National Assembly, while the joint opposition, comprising 11 political parties, has fielded Syed Khursheed Shah for the post and Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s son Asadur Rehman for the post of deputy speaker.

The PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif has been named as the opposition’s candidate for the PM slot.

– PTI grabs 158 NA seats –
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) tally reached 158 members in the National Assembly after it secured 28 reserved seats for women and five for religious minorities.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued a notification, allocating reserved seats for women and minorities to political parties according to their total tally in the National Assembly.

The National Assembly has 342 seats. Of these, 272 are filled by direct elections. While, the reserved 10 seats for religious minorities and 60 seats for women are filled by proportional representation among parties with more than 5% of the vote.

Out of 60 reserved seats for women, the PTI has bagged 28, the Pakistan Muslim League-N 16, the Pakistan Peoples Party nine, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal two and one each by the Grand Democratic Alliance, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, the Balochistan Awami Party and the Balochistan National Party.

Out of 10 reserved seats for minorities, the PTI has secured five, followed by the PML-N and the PPP with two each, while, the MMA has secured one seat.

The PTI maintains the lead as tally rises to 158 seats in the NA, followed by the PML-N with 82, the PPP 53, the MMA 15, the MQM-P seven, the PML-Q five, the BAP five and the BNP four.

The notifications have also been issued for 66 women and eight minority members in Punjab, 29 women and nine minority members in Sindh, 22 women and three minority members in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 11 women and three minority members in Balochistan.

The PTI claims to have garnered support of 180 members of the National Assembly. It has nominated Asad Qaiser as the speaker of the National Assembly and Imran is scheduled to take oath as prime minister on August 18.

As soon as the newly-elected prime minister would take oath, the job of the caretakers would be over and power would be transferred to the newly elected government under the law and the constitution.

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Islamabad, Rawalpindi receive heavy downpour

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad and Rawalpindi received heavy rainfall on Monday night.

The incessant downpour flooded many streets in the low-lying areas of the twin cities which lead to locals experiencing great difficulties in commute.

Scores of localities in Rawalpindi such as Shamsabad, Javed Colony, Committee Chowk and Sadiqabad are overflowed with water as it has entered houses, shops, mosques thus creating difficulties for the residents.

The two cities received 202 milimetres of rain so far, according to a report of the Flood Control Unit.

The water level in Nullah Lai has risen to 14 feet, as a result, Civil Defence, Rescue 1122, Wasa and other departments have been directed to remain on alert to meet any contingency.

Flooding in Nullah Dek
According to Punjab irrigation department nullah Dek flowing in high flood near Sialkot, while 17,000 cusecs flood stream passing through the Chhor point.

India has released water in Nullah Dek, and the water level continuously rising at Kangra, the point where the nullah enters into Pakistan.

Nullah Dek has a capacity of 17,000 cusecs, in case of flooding dozens of the villages in Sialkot will submerge under the floodwater, the irrigation department officials feared.

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Petition in court seeks removal of ‘N’ from PML-N

PESHAWAR: A petition has been filed in the Peshawar High Court seeking the removal of ‘N’ from the name of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N).
The petition was submitted by Khanzada Ajmal Zeb to the PHC, according to reports.

The petitioner prayed the court to declare the word ‘Noon’ or ‘Nawaz’ with PML illegal and unconstitutional and “therefore, it should be expunged from the Pakistan Muslim League.”

The petitioner told the court that Nawaz was convicted in corruption charges and sentenced for 10 years. He asked how can the name of former prime minister is still attached to a political party despite being banned from participating in politics for life?

“Nawaz has hijacked the PML and has introduced his own group, which is against the policy of party’s original ideology and public interests,” he claimed.

A similar application was filed with the Election Commission of Pakistan in the last week of June. The plea had sought removal of Nawaz Sharif’s name from PML-N, arguing that the name of the disqualified person cannot be used in a title of a political party.

The ECP had also issued a notice to party’s supreme leader Nawaz Sharif to file his reply on the petition.

The NAB court had sentenced Nawaz Sharif to 10 years in prison for corrupt practices linked to his family’s purchase of upscale London flats.

Sharif’s daughter, Maryam, widely seen as his chosen political heir, was sentenced to seven years in prison and was disqualified from contesting the elections. Maryam’s husband capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar was handed a year in jail.

Sharif returned to country on July 13 and was arrested subsequently in the light of court orders. He is currently serving his jail term along with his daughter and son-in-law.

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ECP issues final list of election winners

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has notified the final results of the general election 2018, however, results of a few constituencies have been withheld due to pending disputes in courts.
According to the ECP declaration (attached below), the results of all five constituencies contested by PTI chairman Imran Khan have been withheld. Khan had contested from NA-35 (Bannu), NA-53 (Islamabad-II), NA-95 (Mianwali-I), NA-131 (Lahore-IX) and NA-243 (Karachi East-II).

According to the ECP, the notification of Khan’s win in NA-35, NA-95 and NA-243 is subject to a final ECP decision.

However, our correspondent Zahid Mashwani quotes the ECP spokesperson as saying that Mr. Khan can take oath of the prime minister despite withholding of notifications of the constituencies he won.

Meanwhile, the results of 16 constituencies in total have been withheld by the ECP.

The constituencies where results have been withheld are: NA-25, NA-35, NA-53, NA-60, NA-90, NA-91, NA-95, NA-103, NA-108, NA-112, NA-129, NA-131, NA-140, NA-215, NA-243 and NA-271.

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IHC approves transfer of Al-Azizia, Flagship Investment cases against Sharif family

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday approved transfer of two pending references against former premier Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family to other courts, ARY News reported.

According to details, a two-member bench of the IHC, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb, approved transfer of Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment references on the former PM’s plea.

The deposed premier’s counsel had filed a petition requesting the court to transfer Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment references from Judge Muhammad Bashir’s Accountability Court-I to another accountability court.

Sharif family had also appealed against its conviction in Avenfield verdict.

In the hearing on Monday, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi submitted in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that former prime minister’s petition of trial transfer to another accountability court could not be entertained because if an accused has been indicted by a court then the trial cannot be transferred to another judge.

“The reference is in its last stages henceforth the high court will have to decide on this matter now,” the NAB counsel had argued.

Nawaz Sharif was arrested on July 13 along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif when the duo returned to the country. The arrest was in compliance with July 6 court order against Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and her husband Captain (retired) Safdar.

The verdict was announced by accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir.

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Shahbaz Sharif’s son-in-law declared absconder

LAHORE: An accountability court on Tuesday declared Imran Ali Yousaf, son-in-law of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif, an absconder in corruption case.
Accountability judge Najamul Hassan gave the decision on the request of NAB-Lahore, which states that Ali has fled abroad while escaping the investigation into Punjab Power Development Company scandal. The court declared him absconder after he failed to appear in the hearing despite summons.

In May this year, the NAB had summoned Mr Yousaf as he was asked to bring details of a transaction of Rs 120 million deposited to his bank account from the account of the PPDC, but he did not appear.

The Anti-Corruption Establishment had already conducted a probe into the matter involving Mr Naveed and Mr Yousaf in 2016. It had declared Mr Naveed guilty of embezzling Rs 450 m but gave a ‘clean chit’ to Mr Yousaf.

The ACE had found that Mr Naveed had purchased 19 properties in his and his family members’ names. It had also unearthed properties worth Rs 1bn allegedly belonging to Mr Naveed and his family. The property has been attached and suspects’ bank accounts frozen.

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Atif Aslam receives flak for singing Indian song at Independence Day parade

Singer Atif Aslam has received immense criticism for singing a Bollywood song during an Independence Day parade in New York.
Many Pakistani citizens were disappointed after Atif sang an Indian song and left the concert midway. The singer also faced immense criticism on social media.

Renowned singer Muhammad Ali Shaikhi said that it was inappropriate to sing an Indian song at an event held to mark Independence Day.

He said national and patriotic songs are usually sung on such occasions, but it was possible that Atif may have sang one of his own songs on request.

“Often we are requested to sing one of our songs. I think Atif may have done that, not realising whether the song was made in India or Pakistan” he told ARY News.

He said that it was not sensitive to sing the song on such an occasion, but Atif may not have realised the reaction that it may cause.

He said that it was oversight of the situation and it was not a serious issue that he sang any other song. “The era of hatred and differences has now ended,” he said.

Another singer Nadeem Jafri said that it was inappropriate for Atif to sing any other song on any such occasion particularly from a country with which Pakistan has a contentious relationship.

However, he said that Atif has released a large number of songs in India as compared to Pakistan, so either Pakistani artists should either be stopped from going to India or otherwise it not a serious issue.

Singer Abrar-ul-Haq said that Atif Aslam should be forgiven for the inadvertent mistake, but it was rather insensitive to sing an Indian song at such an occasion.

He said that artists are not given the due rights in the country and forward towards India to further their talent and skills. He said that Atif should be much careful in the future.

Atif Aslam sang the song “Tera Hone Laga Hoon” from the movie “Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.”

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Karachi police baffled by mysterious child kidnapper

KARACHI: Police in Karachi’s Quaidabad area are looking for a mysterious kidnapper who is abducting children only to torture them for hours before release, ARY News reported.
According to police, at least three children were temporarily abducted, tortured and then released after being severely tortured sending shock-waves among residents of Quaidabad area’s Sherpao colony.

Medical reports suggest children were tortured using electric wires and metal nails while one of the three victims was thrown off the roof of an empty building in the area.

A police team also searched the empty building named Mian Khel Manzil after the incident but didn’t find any evidence related to the kidnappings.

SSP Malir Munir Ahmed Sheikh said that the children had severe injury marks on their bodies adding that the criminal could be mentally ill.

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LHC rejects Firdous Ashiq Awan’s plea for vote recount

LAHORE: Lahore High Court on Tuesday rejected a request by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Firdous Ashiq Awan seeking votes recount in the NA-72 Sialkot constituency.
LHC judge Justice Mamoon Rasheed Sheikh was hearing the case filed by Ms Awan against the victory of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Chaudhry Armaghan.

The petition stated that Awan lost the election securing 91,392 while the winning candidate secured 129,041 votes while there there were 7015 rejected votes in the consituency.

It further said that the polling agents were not provided copies of the Form 45 which tabulates the final votes. The petitioner alleged that workers of the PML-N candidate forced their way in the polling stations and voted for him.

The petitioner pleaded the court to order a complete vote recount at all polling stations, and withhold the notification of the election results. However, the court turned down the request declaring it not unsuitable for hearing.

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1992 world cup champions to be invited for PM’s inauguration

ISLAMABAD: The recently held general elections put cricket star-turned politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a comfortable position to form government at the Centre, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the help of independents and small coalition partners.
With the PTI scooping 115 seats in the 272-member lower house of parliament, Khan is set to be elected as 21st prime minister of the country.

The PTI chief has directed that his oath-taking should be arranged at a simple and austere ceremony at the President House as no foreign dignitaries, players or actors are being invited for the purpose. No date for the oath-taking has been finalised yet.

However, he has decided to invite members of the Pakistan team which lifted world cup in 1992 under his captaincy to the oath-taking ceremony.

The champions – Waseem Akram, Javed Miandad, Ramiz Raja, Aamir Sohail, , Aqib Javed, Inzamam-ul-Haq Saleem Malik, Eijaz Ahmed, Moin Khan, Mushtaq Ahmed, Zahid Fazal, Wasim Haider and Iqbal Sikander are likely to be invited for the ceremony.

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SAI aircraft carrying stranded Pakistanis takes off from China

ISLAMABAD: More than 200 Pakistanis, who were stranded in a Chinese city for over a week, heaved a sigh of relief when an aircraft of the Shaheen Air International (SIA) carrying them took off from Guangzhou airport on Monday, ARY News reported.
The aircraft reached Guangzhou this morning to bring back 214 passengers stranded there. It is expected to touch down at Lahore airport by 6:00 pm today.

The issue surfaced when the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) suspended the airline’s flight operation over non-payment of its dues of over Rs 1.5 billion.

As a result, the SAI flight which was to carry as many as 300 Pakistanis from the Chinese port city of Guangzhou was cancelled on July 29 and hence they were left stranded.

Some of the passengers had refunded their tickets while others were provided food and lodging.

Taking notice of media reports about the ordeal of the passengers, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had ordered the airline to immediately bring them back.

Afterwards, the CAA gave special permission to the airline to send an aircraft to repatriate the stranded passengers. The CAA engineers inspected the aircraft which was declared faulty and not airworthy.

Later, the faulty part (pipe) of the aircraft was procured from abroad and was installed by engineers after which the plane took off for China.

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Ghinwa Bhutto, the wife of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s deceased eldest son Mir Murtaza Bhutto, drew ire of Imran Khan’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith after the former took exception to Jemima’s alleged trip to Israel, when it was actually not the case.

It all started when Ghinwa, through a tweet, alleged Jemima of vacationing in Israel with her family.

In response, Jemima clarified that she was in Mexico and not Israel. And here’s what she wrote in an apparent rage: “This tweet is staggeringly ignorant and would be funny if it weren’t dangerous. The photo is taken on a family holiday in Mexico (not Israel) and we are wearing ponchos (not Jewish religious dress) @GhinwaBhutto – shame on you.”

Realising the misinformation she “unknowingly” shared, Ghinwa apologized to Jemima, but fuming evident in her tone: “@Jemima_Khan . Oh my god! that was Mexico ? My apologies. How perceptions can easily blind people , even me. But please, please do not lecture me about shame.”

The series of harsh exchanges between them on the micro-blogging website haven’t yet ended. Whether Jemima prefers another retort or skips the response that is yet to be seen.

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‘MQM won the election, and we need them’: Fawad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Making a firm stance on retaining electoral alliance with the former foes, senior leader Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf Fawad Chaudhry says that Muttahida Qaumi Movement has won the election and PTI need them.

Speaking to journalists here, the PTI leader said his party would prefer to go forward with the MQM as a stakeholder.

He said the process of Imran Khan’s oath-taking was very important. He informed that the party’s parliamentary committee meeting would nominate Imran Khan as the prime minister today.

Imran, he said, will lay forward his proposals before the committee.

The high-level huddle is also likely to pick the candidates for speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly.

The PTI is said to have the support of 177 MNAs-elect against 172 required to elect the PTI chief as leader of the 342-member lower house of the parliament.

Yesterday, Fawad Chaudhry said the parliamentary party will nominate Mr. Khan as its pick for the coveted slot of premier.

He said the names of speaker and deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament will also be discussed in the meeting.

The PTI claims to be enjoying the support of 125 MNAs which include at least nine independent members out of the total of 13. However, its tally reaches 174 with addition of its small coalition partners and reserved seats for women and minorities.

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PTI officially nominates Imran as prime minister

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership and MNAs-elect on Monday formally nominated Imran Khan as party candidate for the office of prime minister.

The high-level huddle of the PTI parliamentary party is currently underway at a local hotel.

It is also likely to pick the candidates for speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly.

The PTI claims to be enjoying the support of 125 MNAs which include at least nine independent members out of the total of 13. However, its tally reaches 174 with addition of its small coalition partners and reserved seats for women and minorities.

It will also get support from Balochistan National Party (Mengal) after which its total numbers in the National Assembly would reach 177.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q), Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), the Sindh based Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Awami Muslim League (AML) have allied with the PTI to help it form the new government at the Centre.

The PTI, which is now in a comfortable position to elect Khan as the next prime minister, is said to have also finalised the names of party leaders who will be part of his cabinet. The PM-in-waiting has already expressed the desire to have a smaller cabinet.

As per procedure, if a party has a clear majority or the magical number of 172 votes, it can easily elect the Leader of the House in the National Assembly.

The PTI emerged as the single largest party with 115 seats in the 2018 general elections but fell short of a clear majority in the 342-member house.

According to the Constitution, if the PTI chief manages to secure 172 or more votes in the first round, the president is bound to call him to take the oath as the country’s next prime minister.

In case, he doesn’t get the required number, then there will be a second round of voting between the top two contestants for the slot. In this round, the winner will not need at least 172 votes but the contender who gets the majority of votes will be elected leader of the lower house.

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Fehmida Mirza retains NA-230 Badin seat after recount

 

KARACHI: Former National Assembly speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza has retained the NA-230 seat in Badin following recounting of votes ordered by the Sindh High Court (SHC).

Dr Mirza of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) bagged 95,064 votes while Pakistan Peoples Party’s Haji Rasool Bakhsh Chandio secured 93,999. According to unofficial results, Mirza retained the seat with a lead of 1,065 votes.

On Friday, the SHC had dismissed a petition of the former NA speaker to stop the recount in the NA-230 constituency, from where she has been elected for the fifth consecutive time.

She had prayed to the court to suspend the Election Commission of Pakistan’s July 30 directives to the Returning Officer to complete the recounting in the Badin constituency.

 

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