ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday disqualified PTI Senator Faisal Vawda as a lawmaker over alleged concealment of his dual nationality at the time of contesting the National Assembly election on a Karachi seat in the 2018 general elections.

The ECP also directed Vawda to return within two months the salary and other benefits he had received as a minister and parliamentarian. It also withdrew the notification declaring Vawda's victory on a Senate seat in polls held last year.

The vote Vawda had cast in the Senate polls held on March 10 as a member of the National Assembly was also "invalid", according to the short order announced by the chief election commissioner.

The ECP said Vawda had submitted a "false affidavit" with his nomination papers.

The ECP had reserved its judgement on petitions seeking Vawda's disqualification on Dec 23 last year. The ECP bench had during the last hearing given Vawda the last chance to defend himself and explain his position.

The News reported in January 2020 that Vawda was a dual national at the time of filing his nomination papers to the ECP to contest the 2018 general elections. Vawda submitted his nomination papers on June 11, 2018, which were approved by the election body a week later on June 18, the report said. However, the PTI MNA applied for the renunciation of his nationality with the US consulate at Karachi four days after the fact on June 22, 2018, the report revealed.

Qadir Khan Mandokhel, Mian Faisal and Mian Asif Mehmood subsequently filed petitions in the ECP on January 21, 2020, seeking Vawda's disqualification. A citizen, Dost Ali, also filed a similar petition in 2020 challenging Vawda's election as a member of the National Assembly. The petition stated that when Vawda filed his nomination papers for contesting elections, he held dual nationality as he was a US citizen as well.

A petition was also submitted to the Islamabad High Court seeking Vawda's disqualification. The court had directed the PTI leader to submit a reply.

Despite the issuance of several notices, he did not respond to the petition. In March 2021, Vawda resigned as an MNA on being elected as a senator and his lawyer contended that a dual nationality case against the lawmaker was "not valid now".

However, the IHC held him responsible for submitting a false affidavit regarding his nationality and directed the ECP to proceed against him under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution that deals with disqualification.

In November, the senator filed a petition with the IHC seeking to stay proceedings of the ECP in his disqualification case but the court rejected the appeal.

During the last hearing, Vawda's counsel, Barrister Moeed, had submitted the senator's birth certificate to the ECP, stating that his client was born in California and was a US citizen by birth.