← All Case Highlights

Sardar Haider Khan Nasir and another V. Sardar Dur Muhammad Nasir,

CLC 2016 41 · Balochistan High Court

This case involved two election petitions challenging the 2013 election of Sardar Dur Muhammad Nasir to the Balochistan Provincial Assembly from constituency PB-14 Loralai-I (Dukki). Two losing candidates, Sardar Haider Khan Nasir and Muhammad Shafique Tareen, separately alleged that the winning candidate had engaged in corrupt or illegal practices affecting the results at numerous polling stations, and asked the Election Tribunal to declare the election void and instead declare them elected.

The Balochistan High Court, sitting as an Election Tribunal, dismissed both petitions. It held that anyone challenging an election bears the burden of proving corrupt or illegal practices through clear, cogent, and convincing evidence, similar to the standard required in a criminal trial. Vague affidavits, interested witness testimony without corroboration, or the mere filing of a police complaint on polling day were not enough. The court found no proof that polling was rigged, that result forms were forged, or that the winning candidate was responsible for lapses like unsealed election material or poor-quality ink, since those were failures of election officials, not the candidate. The court also noted that even excluding all disputed votes, the winning candidate still led by 234 votes.

This case matters because it reinforces the strict evidentiary standard for overturning election results in Pakistan and confirms that candidates cannot be blamed for administrative failures of election officials.

Read the full judgment →