Lahore High Court dismisses plea challenging Nawaz Sharif's electoral eligibility - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has dismissed a petition challenging the acceptance of the nomination papers of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif. The high court bench upheld the returning officer's decision to accept Sharif's nomination papers for the by-election, saying the petitioner had failed to substantiate his allegations against the former Prime Minister. The petition, filed by one Shahid Orakzai, alleged that Sharif had tried to ' buy the loyalty of seven MNAs of the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) after the 1993 general elections. Sharif has already withdrawn his nomination papers to contest the NA-123 by-elections, clearing the way for his party's candidate Malik Pervez. Sharif's withdrawal of his nomination papers comes after the PML-N decided to award the party ticket to Malik Pervez. Malik Pervez is the brother of former Attorney-General Malik Qayyum. Earlier, the Punjab government had asked the Election Commission to postpone the by-polls due to security reasons. The polls were subsequently postponed and are now scheduled to be held on March 10.