Nomination papers filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi were rejected by an appellate tribunal on Saturday for carrying inauthentic signatures.
The verdict on Qureshis' nomination papers came after his party's founder was deemed ineligible to contest the upcoming elections for carrying a conviction in the Toshakhana case.
Qureshi's nomination papers in Multan had earlier been rejected by the returning officer (RO). He challenged the RO's verdict before the appellate tribunal.
However, on Saturday, the tribunal ruled that the signatures on an affidavit submitted by Qureshi along with his papers did not carry his signatures, which is why his papers were being rejected.
The PTI senior vice chairman had submitted papers for two national and two provincial assembly constituencies, including NA-150 and NA-151, along with PP-218 and PP-219.
It is pertinent to note that Qureshi's papers from NA-214 Umerkot in Sindh have already been accepted.
Moreover, the election tribunal accepted the nomination papers filed by Qureshi's two children, Zaind Qureshi and Mehrbano Qureshi, from NA-150 and NA-151, respectively. Zain's papers for NA-214 were also approved.
Separately, the nomination papers of former federal information minister Fawad Chaudhry and his wife have been rejected.
A tribunal hearing objections against the nomination papers filed by Fawad Chaudhry's wife for the Punjab provincial assembly elections was provided with records from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The tribunal declared that she failed to declare three foreign tours and nine bank accounts.
Moreover, the Election Commission has withdrawn the approval granted to nomination papers filed by Fawad Chaudhry from NA-60 and NA-61 for failing to declare his wife's bank accounts.
An election tribunal has issued a notice to Fawad Chaudhry for January 9 to explain why he should not be disqualified for concealing his wife's assets.
On Friday, an election tribunal accepted Zulfiqar Bukhari's nomination papers from Attock.