Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), congratulated his party on Wednesday after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said PTI Senator Faisal Vawda could not be a lawmaker because he hid his dual nationality when he ran for the National Assembly (NA) in Karachi during the 2018 general election.
Vawda was also ordered by a three-member bench of the ECP to refund his salary and other perks as a federal minister and legislator within 60 days. Additionally, it retracted the notice certifying Vawda’s win in last year’s Senate elections.
Bilawal responded to the event on Twitter, writing, “One more #PTI wicket gone.” Congratulations on becoming a part of #teamPPP. “
As a member of the NA, Vawda voted in the March 10 Senate elections as a member of the ECP, which means that his vote was also “illegal” because he submitted a “false affidavit” with his candidacy papers.
The verdict was reached after almost two years and 23 hearings. Senator Vawda’s disqualification case was first heard on February 3, 2020, on the petition of Qadir Mandokhail, Mian Faisal, and Mian Asif Mahmood. On December 23, 2021, the case will be decided.
According to the petitioners, Vawda failed to reveal his US citizenship in his candidacy papers for a Karachi national parliament seat. Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court set a two-month deadline for the Election Commission to rule on the matter. That’s what it said. It couldn’t get rid of Faisal Vawda because he had already resigned from his NA seat.
However, the IHC said, “According to the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s judgement, there are penalties for filing a fake affidavit,” adding that the ECP should determine what to do with Faisal Vawda’s alleged false affidavit.
In March 2021, Vawda resigned from his National Assembly position. The PTI lawmaker also asked the Sindh High Court to postpone the ECP’s decision on his disqualification case, so that he could have more time to study it.
