SARDAR SIKANDER SHAHEEN

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has restored for hearing an appeal of Mayor of Karachi Murtaza Wahab against the imposition of a penalty on him by an electoral official over alleged Code of Conduct violation of the general elections held last year.

A three-member ECP bench heard Wahab’s appeal on Wednesday and accepted his plea regarding the restoration of his petition.

The district monitoring officer (DMO) Karachi Central had imposed a fine of 49,000 rupees on Wahab ahead of the 8 February 2024 general elections over alleged violation of the polls’ Code of Conduct.

Wahab, the Karachi Mayor, who belongs to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), moved the ECP against the DMO’s decision.

During the case hearing on Wednesday, the ECP bench questioned why the mayor of Karachi did not appear before the Commission earlier despite being summoned several times.

The petitioner’s counsel said that he could not appear due to his official engagements in a mayoral capacity.