RAWALPINDI (INP): Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid said that it is not an election; but a joke.
The former minister released a video on X, formerly Twitter, after rejection of his nomination papers for Rawalpindi’s constituencies.
“The Returning Officer (RO) had promised to give the attested copies of my rejected nomination papers from NA-56 and NA-57, Rawalpindi. My lawyers kept sitting there outside the office of RO till 11.PM yesterday but they were not provided with the attested copies,” the veteran politician said.
“It is not an election; but a joke,” he said, while addressing the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.
According to Sheikh Rashid, baseless and fabricated allegations were leveled against him and therefore he wanted to approach the high court against the rejection of his nomination papers.
Our lawyers are still there in the RO office and I request the courts to direct the Returning Officer to give us the attested copies, he added. “We’ll win both the constituencies of NA-56 and NA-57 with the help of Almighty and the support of our people,” he concluded.
Earlier, the RO had said that Sheikh Rashid was defaulter of the forest department’s Murree rest house. He had stayed at the rest house from September 4 to 9 in 2022 without paying charges, the RO said, a claim that was refuted by the politician.
Meanwhile, the RO had rejected nomination papers of Sheikh Rashid for Rawalpindi National Assembly constituency NA-56 and his nephew Rashid Shafique’s nomination papers for NA-57.
RO Rawalpindi Nazarat Ali has provided copies of objections on his nomination papers to Rashid. “Sheikh Rashid has failed to provide complete details of his assets,” RO objected. “The value of his declared assets not matching his investment,” RO said. “He didn’t declare his income from year 2021 to 2023 in assets papers,” RO further said.
He is defaulter of the forest department’s Murree rest house bill and stayed at the rest house from September 4 to 9 in Year 2022 without paying charges, according to an objection. “There are 3,22,000 arrears payable against him in respect of a government,” another objection read.
Sheikh Rashid Shafique has failed to submit tax return of his wife. He also failed to file complete details of his assets, according to objections.
Sheikh Rashid after rejection of his nomintion papers said that the RO had promised to issue confirmed copies of objections by 4:30pm but didn’t issue the copies. “My lawyers were waiting till 11:00 in night for the copies, which were not issued to them,” he said. He asked for issuance of the copies of the ROs decision, so they could challenge the matter in high court.