District Returning Officer
(DRO) Ch Anwer Ahmed Khan also summoned Amir to appear before court by April 6.
Eyewitnesses said local residents Arif Mehmood and Khawaja Babar Saleem Mehmood
had registered their objections with the local office of the election commission
saying Amir’s columns were in conflict with the ideology of Pakistan. Over
which, the returning office rejected Amir’s papers and referred them back to the
ECP.
Khawaja Baber Saleem Mehmood, who is the chairman of the local press club, had
filed objections through his lawyer Khawaja Khalid Farooq.
According to the Constitution of Pakistan, one cannot be a member of Parliament
if he “violates Islamic injunctions,” or has “worked against the integrity of
the country or opposed the ideology of Pakistan.”
Amir, who had filed nomination papers for the NA-60 seat from Chakwal, confirmed
that his papers had been rejected by the returning officer.
“Some local journalist raised objections on some of my columns, claiming they
were against the ideology of Pakistan and Islam,” he said.
“This is the first time in Pakistan that nomination papers have been rejected on
the basis of journalistic writing. Not everyone writes weekly columns. I’m among
the few who do, I’m not sure if this would be applicable to other candidates.”
Regarding his future course of action, Amir said he would file an appeal against
the decision tomorrow.
Officials from the Election Commission of Pakistan were unavailable for comment
until the filing of this report.