LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has issued notices to Ahmad Mukhtar of the Pakistan People’s Party and other respondents on an election petition filed by the PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain seeking disqualification of the defence minister.

Shujaat had contended that the respondent and the Election Commission committed gross irregularities during polling in NA-105, Gujarat. The petitioner said that the respondent forcefully barred many voters sympathetic to him (Shujaat) from casting their votes at almost all the polling stations. He said the returning officer counted a number of rejected votes in favour of Ahmad Mukhtar whereas he was legally bound to re-examine all the rejected votes presented by the presiding officers.

He said the court should disqualify the minister as he had defaulted on his property tax payments worth Rs 635,162. The petitioner requested the court to declare him (Shujaat) as the returned candidate. The court would hear the case on May 29.