LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: PTI activist Sanam Javed has opted not to run for the NA-119 Lahore seat against PML-N chief organizer Maryam Nawaz in the upcoming elections. The decision was conveyed by Sanam Javed’s sister, Falak Javed, on a social media platform.
“I am not contesting elections,” wrote Sanam Javed in a message on the mentioned platform.
According to Sanam Javed, Mian Shahzad Farooq is the most suitable candidate for the position. In a tweet, she argued for Shahzad Farooq’s candidacy, emphasizing that although she won’t be participating, his election campaign in NA-119 would be considered as her own.
PTI candidates Sanam Javed and Shaukat Basra, vying for NA-119, NA-120, and PP-150, were granted permission by the Supreme Court of Pakistan to partake in the elections.
This decision contradicted the verdict of the Returning Officers (ROs) in their respective constituencies. The Supreme Court’s division bench directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to include the names of the approved PTI candidates on the ballot boxes.
Earlier, the Lahore High Court had reserved judgment on petitions challenging the decisions of the election Appellate Tribunal, which included appeals from various PTI leaders, including Sanam Javed.
The court rejected these appeals against the rejection of nomination papers, upholding the decisions of the election tribunals.
This included figures such as Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry, Hammad Azhar, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, and others. The rejection also affected Shah Mahmood’s nomination from NA-150, NA-151, and PP-218.
The court’s three-member bench, led by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, dismissed the appeals, solidifying the decisions to reject the nomination papers.
Meanwhile, Lahore police arrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Sanam Javed in another case shortly on Monday after she was granted bail by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC).
Sanam Javed had secured bail from the ATC in a case related to the alleged arson of the PML-N office, posting surety bonds of Rs200,000.
However, the PTI activist and candidate from NA-119, NA-120, and PP-125 was apprehended by Shadman police in connection with case no 768, which was registered against her on terrorism charges. Nonetheless, soon after her arrest, Sanam decided not to contest election from NA-119 against Maryam Nawaz.
It’s worth noting that Sanam Javed is facing multiple cases, including the Zaman Town vandalism, PML-N house fire, Race-course police station case, and others, stemming from the May 9 riots that erupted across Pakistan following the arrest of the former prime minister and PTI founder from the Islamabad High Court premises.
In a significant development last week, a divisional bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Muneeb Akhtar, overturned the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) and the election tribunal’s rejection of PTI leaders’ nomination papers.
