ISLAMABAD, Sept 6: The counsel for the president informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that Gen Pervez Musharraf’s term as head of state would expire on Nov 15.
At the same time, the attorney-general told the court that its exercise of discretionary jurisdiction to review the law under which Gen Musharraf was holding two offices might disrupt the constitutional process of electing the next president as well as holding the general election.
“The term of office of the president of Pakistan expires on 15th November, 2007. It may be mentioned that under article 44(1) of the Constitution (term of office of the president), it is provided that the president shall, notwithstanding the expiration of his term, continue to hold office until his successor enters upon his office,” Sharifuddin Pirzada, the president’s counsel, said in a statement he submitted in the court.
A seven-member Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry ignored a request by Mr Pirzada to stay the proceedings till the review petition of the Pakistan Lawyers Forum against the 17th Constitutional Amendment was decided.
Admitting the Jamaat-i-Islami petition for regular hearing, the court appointed senior advocates S. M. Zafar, Hafiz Pirzada and Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan to assist it as amici curiae when it would resume hearing on Sept 17.
Malik Qayyum also was asked to assist the court as attorney-general, though he intended to represent the federal government in the case.
Mr Qayyum told the bench that the government would not submit any written statement in the court in the light of the judgment in the 2005 PLF case.
The attorney-general argued that President Gen Musharraf was qualified and competent to contest elections with or without uniform for a second term as president.
Senior advocate Akram Sheikh, representing the JI, maintained that the President to Hold Another Office Act, 2004, discriminated among people occupying similar offices, similar incumbents and among all army personnel.
Citing the judgment in the 2005 PLF case which reiterated an earlier verdict in 2002 Qazi Hussain Ahmed’s case on the point that under Article 63 only qualifications were applicable to the office of the president and not the disqualifications, he said it was against the dictum declared in the 1990 Pir Sabir Shah case. As such, he added, the judgments were liable to be revisited to find if disqualification under the article applied to the president or not.
The counsel said Article 244 (oath of armed forces) was applicable in the coming presidential election, adding that Gen Musharraf was not eligible to file nomination papers for another term as president even without uniform.
