GB's top court disqualifies PPP candidate for concealing assets

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court on Thursday disqualified PPP candidate Fida Muhammad Nashad for concealing his assets in his nomination papers, setting aside the GB Chief Court’s decision that had allowed him to contest the elections.

Nashad’s nomination papers were initially rejected by the returning officer (RO), prompting him to challenge the decision before the election tribunal. The tribunal, however, upheld the RO’s decision. Subsequently, Nashad challenged the tribunal’s verdict in the GB Chief Court, which allowed him to contest the elections.

The Form 47 issued by the GB Election Commission after the recent general elections in June had declared Nashad the returned candidate from constituency GBA-09 Skardu-III.

However, his opponent, Zakir Hussain, had challenged his eligibility to become a member of the assembly before the GB Supreme Appellate Court.

On June 19, GB Supreme Appellate Court Chief Judge Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan issued an order suspending the issuance of the result from the constituency until the decision of the case.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Shamim issued a verdict in the case on Thursday, disqualifying Nashad from holding a seat in the assembly from GBA-09 Skardu-III. He also heard the Election Commission’s representatives and examined revenue records.

After examining the records and revenue documents, the region’s apex court found that Nashad had concealed details of his assets in the nomination papers submitted for contesting the elections from GBA-09 Skardu-III.

In its verdict, the court declared the GB Chief Court’s order dated May 25, 2026, “null and void” and upheld the decision of the election tribunal.

Justice Shamim maintained that the election tribunal had rightly disqualified Nashad under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution of Pakistan for concealing assets, making false statements and violating the mandatory provisions of the Election Act.

He added that the GB Chief Court, without any sound legal reason, had allowed the writ petition against the election tribunal’s final decision and set aside its order.

The GB Supreme Appellate Court also ordered that a copy of the decision be sent to the GB chief election commissioner for immediate legal action.

In the June 7 elections, the PPP emerged as the largest party in the region, winning 12 seats in the 24-member GB assembly.

The PPP had announced that it would form a government in GB with the support of the PML-N. However, they agreed that the PML-N would sit in the opposition.

On Monday, the party-nominated Advocate Amjad Hussain also took the oath as the chief minister. ...