NA Speaker rules out PM disqualification reference

Published October 2, 2014
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. — File photo/Online
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. — File photo/Online

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq rejected on Thursday a reference requesting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's disqualification, on the basis that Article 63(2) of the Constitution provided impunity to the premier.

Petitioner Advocate Azhar Siddiqui challenged the speaker's ruling in the Supreme Court for not considering the prime minister's disqualification, of which PM Nawaz has been made a party.

The petitioner stated that the premier was not eligible according to the clauses 62(1)(d) and 62(1)(a) of the Constitution and requested the apex court to nullify the speaker's ruling in this regard.

It was also requested that SC should direct the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to cancel the prime minister's National Assembly membership and declare that no one was above the law.

Earlier in a August 30 reference, Advocate Siddiqui had raised the question of the premier's eligibility by citing Article 63 (2) of the Constitution. Siddiqui had said in his reference that the prime minister had defamed Pakistan army during the joint parliamentary session.

NA Speaker ruled out the reference by terming it as non-factual and far from reality. Ayaz Sadiq said that Article 63(2) ensures impunity to the prime minister and declared the reference ruled out.

During hearing of a separate petition today in the Supreme Court also asking for Nawaz Sharif's disqualification, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja in his remarks asked the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) counsel Gohar Nawaz Sindhu if they could bring the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif as a witness.

A three-member bench, headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and comprising Justice Musheer Alam and Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, was hearing the identical petitions filed by former MNA and PTI leader Ishaq Khan Khakwani, Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Gohur Sindhu Advocate.

The petitioners had requested the court to disqualify Prime Minister Sharif under Article 62-f of the Constitution, claiming he gave a false statement in the joint sitting of the Parliament over the role of the army in negotiations with PTI and PAT to end their prevailing sit-ins.

During today's hearing, the PTI counsel said that in the light of Article 68 of the Constitution, any parliamentarian defaming Pakistan army or the country's judiciary becomes ineligible to continue being a member of the assembly.

Justice Musheer Alam corrected Sindhu and said that the constitutional clause cited by the PTI counsel had been amended. Against the backdrop of the 18th amendment, a lawmaker's membership can only be suspended after conviction, he added.

Justice Alam cited former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's case, when the former premier was suspended after had been convicted for the contempt of court.

Before adjourning proceedings to Oct 15, Justice Khawaja said that the court first needs to decide whether the petition is admissible for hearing or not.

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