ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: A citizen on Saturday asked the Supreme Court through a stay application to prevent the federation from issuing any ordinance about the president's two offices.
Mr Shahid Orakzai, who had earlier moved a petition asking the Supreme Court to declare the President to Hold Another Office Bill 2004 as against the constitution, has now filed the stay application, seeking to pre-empt the government's move to promulgate an ordinance in this regard.
Early hearing of the constitutional petition by a larger bench has also been requested since the matter is urgent as 12 of the 30 days that the president has under Article 75 of the Constitution to give his assent to the bill had already passed.
In his application, he pointed out that the legislative procedure would not be completed before December 31 in case President Pervez Musharraf invoked his special powers under Article 75 of the Constitution to propose any amendment in the recently passed President to Hold Another Office Bill 2004 by the two houses of parliament.
In case the president proposed any amendment to the bill, that amendment would be sent to the two houses of parliament which would then refer it to a 16-member mediation committee, having members both from the National Assembly and the Senate, to discuss and approve the amendment in 90 days, he elaborated.
The provision of 16-member mediation committee was inserted in Article 70 of the Constitution through the Legal Framework Order (LFO), but has not been constituted ever since, he said.
Even President Musharraf had not yet framed the rules for the mediation committee which is to evolve an agreed bill in 90 days in case of any differences between the two houses.
The stay application said the president had a difficult choice under Article 75 of the Constitution since the 'faults of legislation' were now a public knowledge and in the circumstances the assent by the president would be a violation of his constitutional oath.
He said the bill was in direct conflict with Article 43 of the Constitution as was evident from the first draft in which Law Minister Wasi Zafar had described both the offices held by the president as 'office of profit'. Article 43 does not allow the president to hold "any office of profit in the service of Pakistan," and the lawmakers could not declare any office of profit a non-profit one, he stated.
Since the National Assembly is not in session, the federation may issue an ordinance to rectify the same position. He has reiterated in his stay application that the Supreme Court should advise the president to withhold assent till the disposal of the petition.
