The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday accepted for initial hearing a petition seeking disqualification of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
In the next stage, the commission will decide on the maintainability of the plea.
Petitioner Khurrum Sher Zaman, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker, has asked the commission to disqualify and de-seat Zardari as an MNA under the Article 62 (1)(f) of the Constitution. He has accused the PPP co-chairman of concealing his assets, including an apartment in Belaire Condominiums located at 524 East 72nd Street, New York. Zardari has denied having any such property in the US.
However, in a media briefing after filing the petition, Sher Zaman had waved some papers he said carried ‘documentary evidence to prove’ that Zardari owned the New York property. Another piece of evidence, he claimed, showed that one Mehreen Shah was granted the power of attorney for the condo unit by Zardari.
Earlier in the day, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said that the government was considering putting names on the Exit Control List (ECL) of those nominated in the report of the Joint Investigation Team probing the alleged laundering of billions of rupees. The report submitted to the Supreme Court included names of bigwigs, including Zardar, his sister Faryal Talpur and others.
Published in Daily Times, December 28th 2018.
