PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court against a fresh notice issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seeking clarification on one of his properties.
He filed a petition through advocate Bashir Khan Wazir requesting the high court to declare the impugned notification issued by the ECP on November 20, 2024 as illegal, unconstitutional and contrary to the provisions of the Election Act, 2017.
He also sought a declaration from the court that the impugned notification was issued mala fide and based on political victimization.
In the impugned notification issued to Mr. Gandapur, the ECP had asked him to provide clarifications/justifications within 15 days regarding a land measuring 735 kanals and 12 marlas, which he had declared sold in his asset and liability returns submitted by him. to the commission. for the year ending June 30, 2024.
He sees political victimization behind the issuance of the notice
He was asked to share the ownership documents and sale deed of the said land with the commission.
Earlier, the ECP had notified Mr. Gandapur on April 28 after taking cognizance of his declaration of assets and liabilities for the financial year 2022-23 and nomination papers to contest the 2024 general elections of the PK-113 Dera Ismail Khan. He was asked to appear before the commission on April 30.
However, Mr. Gandapur challenged the said notification also before the High Court, which granted him interim relief suspending the said notification.
The above petition is still pending before the high court.
The respondents in the present petition are the Chief Election Commissioner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Election Commissioner, DI Khan Regional Election Commissioner and his District Election Commissioner.
In the petitioner, Mr. Gandapur claimed that he contested the February 8 elections in PK-113 constituency and was declared a returned candidate before being elected by the assembly as chief minister of the province.
He said that before the elections, he provided full details of his assets, which were microscopically examined by the election watchdog through its appointed returning officer.
“Now that the elections are over, the ECP has reopened the issue of declaration of assets and liabilities, which is based on mala fide intention and tainted with political malice, and has no legal backing,” he said.
Gandapur maintained that the ECP, by issuing a notice to him on April 28, 2024, showed that it wanted to “continuously hang the sword of Damocles over his head just to pressure and harass him”, an act contrary to its mandate.
Mr. Gandapur submitted that the said impugned notification had already been challenged wherein the proceedings initiated by ECP had been stayed.
However, it stated that ECP had again issued the present impugned notice on November 20, 2024 regarding ‘declarations of assets and liabilities’, which was part of the same matter already pending before the high court.
The petitioner stated in his statement before ECP that said land had been duly justified and documentary evidence of its sale had already been presented.
The Prime Minister said that as the general elections had ended and the ECP had notified the elected candidates in the official gazette under section 98 of the Electoral Act, 2017, the ECP had become “functus officio” to exercise its powers. under that law, which only dealt with election matters.
He added that the ECP’s suo motu cognizance of electoral matters was illegal, unjustified and contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2017.
Published in Amanecer, January 4, 2025.
