GB Supreme Appellate Court dismisses IPP candidate’s election appeal

On Friday, the Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court dismissed Istekham-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate Imam Malik's appeal against the decision to suspend his membership and declare PPP candidate Attaullah Shah the winner in constituency GBA-16 Diamer-II. The Supreme Appellate Court also ordered the GB Election Tribunal to hear objections from both parties and make a decision.

The IPP candidate had filed an election appeal against the order passed by the GB Election Tribunal. Earlier, the GB Election Tribunal judge had heard a petition filed by PPP candidate Attaullah Shah, who challenged the general election result on the grounds that the returning officer had issued Form-49 without counting postal votes.

This led to the GB chief election commissioner declaring Imam Malik as the successful candidate. On September 11, the GB Election Tribunal judge suspended Malik's membership and ordered the completion of postal ballot paper counting. Following the GB Election Tribunal's order, verification and counting were conducted on September 13, resulting in PPP candidate Attaullah Shah securing 6,618 votes, beating Malik by 13 votes.

However, on September 14, the Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court suspended the Election Tribunal judge's decision while admitting Malik's appeal against the tribunal's decision. On Thursday, GB Supreme Appellate Court Chief Judge Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan reserved the verdict, which was announced on Friday.