Faisal Vawda given five days to respond to disqualification petition

ISLAMABAD : The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday directed Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda to furnish his reply on a petition seeking his disqualification as a member of the National Assembly for allegedly concealing his dual citizenship. The IHC bench comprising Justice Aamir Farooq directed him to submit his response within a period of five days and adjourned the hearing of the petition by Sept 17. Barrister Jahangir Khan Jadoon, the counsel for petitioner Mian Muhammad Faisal, appeared in court while no one appeared on behalf of the federal minister. The petitioner alleged that Faisal Vawda lied in the June 11, 2018 affidavit he submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) before the 2018 elections that he had given up his dual nationality. He said the minister was an American national at that time but he fibbed in the affidavit, adding he held the US citizenship even when his nomination papers were being scrutinised. Therefore, he pleaded with the bench to disqualify him as a member of parliament. At the previous hearing, the court had issued notices to Faisal Vawda, the cabinet division secretary, the law secretary and the ECP secretary to submit their comments on the petition.