June 14, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 13, 1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

ISLAMABAD, June 13: The Supreme Court on Friday admitted a constitutional petition challenging the educational qualifications of 65 MMA legislators, and issued notices to top leaders of the alliance.

Taking up the constitutional petition of Dr Aslam Khaki, the Supreme Court heard short arguments by the petitioner and the attorney-general before issuing notices to respondents.

Attorney-General Makhdoom Ali Khan supported the filing of the petition directly in the Supreme Court. He cited many judgments to justify that despite the existence of a separate forum the highest court could be approached when an issue of public importance was involved.

Borrowing an expression from an Indian judgment [Tamil Nado high court], the AG contended that allowing a person who was not qualified to be a member to remain a member of the legislative body, amounted to committing “fraud with the constitution.”

The five-member bench consisted of Chief Justic Shaikh Riaz Ahmad, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Qazi Mohammad Farooq, Justice Mian Mohammad Ajmal and Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi.

The petitioner is seeking disqualification of the MMA members on the grounds that their sanads issued by Tanzeemul Madaris were not equivalent to BA degrees.

According to the petition, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, Maulana Samiul Haq, Hafiz Hussain Ahmad and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri are prominent among those who are not qualified to become members of assemblies.

The petitioner said the University Grants Commission had recognized the sanad of Shahadat Alimiya fil Arabia as equivalent to MA Islamiat only for teaching purpose and nothing else.

The petitioner, a lawyer, is also challenging the Election Commission ruling that the degrees obtained by the MMA leaders from Madaris were valid to contest elections.

Out of total 65 MMA legislators facing disqualification, 28 are MNAs, six senators, and 31 members of the NWFP and Balochistan assemblies. On the last hearing when Mr Khaki had sought time to amend his petition he had stated that he had come to know that PML-Q MNA Abdus Sattar Lalika and Amjad Warriach of the PML (Junejo) were carrying degrees of dubious nature and that he would also make them party in his petition.

But the amended petition which he has filed does not carry their names. Instead, three other PML-Q legislators have been included in the petition who are Rasheed Akbar Nawani, an MNA from Bhakkar; Saeed Akbar Khan Nawani, an MPA from Bhakkar, and Saleh Mohammad Ganji, an MPA from Khushab.

Talking to reporters after the hearing, Mr Khaki said he was wrongly portrayed as “proxy petitioner”. He said he had been involved in public interest litigation throughout his life. He said he and Maulana Fazl had studied in the same Madressah.

Apart from pro forma respondents like the National Assembly speaker, Senate chairman, speakers of the NWFP, Sindh and Balochistan assemblies, the federation of Pakistan and the Election Commission, the petitioner impleaded the following legislators as respondents: Maulana Rehmatullah, Maulana Gohar Shah, Mufti Ibrar Sultan, Shah Abdul Aziz, Akhunzada Mohammad Sadiq, Maulana Abdul Malik, Qari Mohammad Yousaf, Maulvi Abdul Haleem, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Maulana Nasib Ali Shah, Maulana Amanullah Khan, Qari Abdul Basees, Maulana Abdul Akbar, Maulana Asadullah, Ahmad Ghafoor Ghawas, Maulana Inyatur Rehman, Maulvi Nek Zaman, Abdul Malik, Mohammad Mirajuddin, Maulvi Mohammad Sadiq, Maulana Khalilur Rehman, Haji Gul Mohammad, Mohammad Khan Sherani, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Maulvi Rehmatullah, Hafiz Hussain Ahmad, Qari Gul Rehman, and Maulvi Noor Mohammad.

The six senators are: Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, Maulana Rahat Hussain Shah, Hidayatullah, Sahibzada Khalid Jan, Maulana Samiul Haq, and Dr Azizullah Satakzai.

The MPAs from the NWFP are: Maulana Umar Sadiq, Ihsanullah Ashraf Hazarvi, Ibrahim Khan Qasim, Maulana Mohammad Mujahid, Maulana Mohammad Idrees, Musamir Shah, Amant Shah, Maulana Hafiz Akhtar, Tajul Amin, Qari Mohammad Abdullah, Maulana Dildar Ahmad, Maulana Asmatullah, Maulana Qari Gul Azeem Shah, Hamid Shah, Maulvi Abdur Razzaq, Maulana Irfanullah, Qari Mehmood, Mufti Hussain Ahmad, Maulana Abdur Rehman, Maulana Jehangir, Maulvi Dur Mohammad, Maulvi Noor Mohammad, Syed Mattiullah, Maulvi Faizullah, Maulvi Abdul Wase, Maulana Faiz and Maulvi Agha Mohammad.

The MPAs from Balochistan Assembly are: Hussain Ahmad Sharoodi, Maulvi Abdul Raheem, Maulana Abdul Bari, and Maulvi Attaullah.