The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure over Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda’s absence from proceedings in a dual nationality case and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him for “repeatedly asking for postponements”. The fine was imposed after Vawda’s lawyer, Mohammad bin Mohsin, failed to appear before the ECP during the hearing of a petition seeking the minister’s disqualification from the National Assembly since he was a dual nationality holder at the time of being elected. During the hearing, which was presided over by a five-member commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, Mohsin’s associate, Hasnain Ali Chohan, submitted an application for postponement of the proceedings.”The lawyer (Mohammad bin Mohsin) is in Lahore because of a case in the Lahore High Court,” he informed the commission at which one of the members, Altaf Ibrahim Qureshi, observed that the “commission’s proceedings are not linked to the proceedings of any court”.
