PM's disqualification plea: SC constitutes three-member bench

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PM's disqualification plea: SC constitutes three-member bench

Dawn.com Published September 27, 2014

ISLAMABAD: A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, will hear a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's Ishaq Khan Khakwani on September 29, calling for the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The other members of the bench include Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Dost Muhammad Khan.

Khakwani, who is a central committee leader in the PTI, had filed the petition through his counsel Advocate Irfan Qadir requesting the court to order disqualification of the prime minister for falsely stating in the National Assembly that he had not asked Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif to act as a mediator and guarantor between the government on one side and PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on the other for ending the political impasse.

The petition added that the prime minister later denied in the assembly that the army was dealing with such issues without the government desiring it to do so. By making two different statements, it alleged, Sharif had tried to malign and damage the fair image of the army in violation of Article 62 (g) of the Constitution.

Also read: Refusal to entertain plea against PM challenged

The petition said that an army spokesman had confirmed that it was the government which had asked the army chief to play a role in resolving the standoff.

This established that Nawaz Sharif had made a false statement concerning the army chief and, therefore, was liable to be proceeded against under Article 62 (f) of the Constitution, it argued.

The article deals with the qualification of a member from becoming a parliamentarian if he is not sagacious, righteous, honest and Ameen.

The admission of the petition comes in the backdrop of protests led by PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) against Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif with the parties calling for the resignation of the prime minister in what they — particularly Imran's party — regard as a government that came to power as the result of an allegedly rigged election.

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Harmony

Sep 27, 2014 05:01pm

Good news...hope the court is brave and serves justice to this lying PM. That would be one way to end the political impasse.

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Anon

Sep 27, 2014 05:10pm

Why can't i ever get a time to get my hearings in court so quickly. Guess Umpire issues get priority

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Reality Check

Sep 27, 2014 05:40pm

no member of parliament can be held accountable for what is said on the floor of the house and as it turns out the Pm wasnt lying

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Hatim

Sep 27, 2014 06:06pm

@Reality Check If he was not lying then ISPR and Imran Khan were lying. The court must make this clear. Instead, I believe they will dismiss this case on some technicality.

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jahangir

Sep 27, 2014 06:35pm

Javed Hashmi disclosures coming true....as according to him IK sadi to him that some court heads are with him and will decide against NS....London plan unfolding...amazing thing is that this means what else NS said was true for eg. NS said that there was no rigging, IK is on foreign agenda....do we consider all things true except fro mediation? and who will decisde who between NS and Army told the truth?.

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Agha Ata

Sep 27, 2014 06:46pm

One terribly wrong thing all dictators think, at the time when their fall is eminent, is that this will pass, too. The entire nation stands up against them, the whole world is watching but they only see the tunnel view of their few supporters and hope for the best. And the result is horrible. This is high time Nawaz Sharif should retire and let himself be faded in history. But some people, when fallen in a ditch, do not stop digging.

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Jalbani Baloch

Sep 27, 2014 06:49pm

Let the Govt. complete its tenure and if this tradition is allowed to continue, the time is not far away, when Pakistan will also get a stable government and functional democracy. All the political parties, except, IK is not prepared to accept this government, which has come into power through a laid-down procedure. Supposing that NS has come into power through fraudulent election, IK can only make such a claim in Punjab and he can get some gains in this province, but what about his position in other two provinces of Pakistan, Sindh and Balochistan, where he does not have presence at all, except a few seats in Karachi. So, dear IK, please show maturity and focus on good governance in our KPK and set an example, so that people of other provinces of Pakistan (Sindh and Balochistan) may also welcome you in the next. Just wait for more few years and let the people decide their own fate.

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Atam Vetta

Sep 27, 2014 06:49pm

I am confident that the Pak SC will state clearly that it has no jurisdiction on events in the Parliament and that its role is to ensure that Bills passed by the Parliament do not violate the basic principles of the Pak Constitution. For Example, Indian Constitution allows reservations on the basis of social backwardness but not on the basis of religion. At least two provincial Assemblies passed laws reserving seats for Muslims but the Supreme Court declared them illegal. On the other hand the Congress Party requested the Indian SC to require the Lok Sabha Speaker to appoint its nominee as the Leader of the Opposition when it has less than 10% of the Lok Sabha seats, a requirement to be declared as Opposition. SC heard the case and declared that the running of the Lok Sabha is the prerogative of the Speaker and it cannot intervene. Given, its previous judgements the Pak SC will make a similar declaration. Otherwise there will be a tussle between the Pak SC and the Pak Parliament and the SC will loose because the Parliament has the final say on Constitutional matters as it can alter or promulgate new laws within the Constitutional limits and SC can only interpret those laws.

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Nasser Khan

Sep 27, 2014 07:13pm

Most lies told by a political leader with out any substantial proof : Imran Khan. When will the courts move against him?

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qaisar

Sep 27, 2014 07:23pm

Pti believe judiciary, govt, media except ary, ecp are all corrupt, then still goes to them for justice. Stop wasting ppl and world time . Ppl at dharna is not giving any qurbani but a simple mazdoor who's dihari have stop due to ecnomic impacts on the country. Umpire is gone, who know the new umpire may call the bowler arm angle wrong and take ball from him

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BAYBAAK

Sep 27, 2014 07:26pm

@Jalbani Baloch : Why let this govt to complete its tenure when it is proved and ECP itself accepted irregularities and rigging in the election. By the way I am not supporter of PTI or PAT but truth is truth.

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sid

Sep 27, 2014 09:04pm

Here we go again. Another white wash on its way from guess who... Mr Khawaja. This is the same judge who is related to the owner of GEO and felt he was still credible to hear a case involving GEO, only then to be moved aside by the CJ after a public outcry. This is the real acumen and vision of some (if not all) of the supreme court judges. How can people then expect justice???

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Subhe Nau

Sep 27, 2014 09:16pm

@Anon On which date was the petition filed? And on which date it will be heard? You should have written these details alongwith average time taken by SC for constitutional petition in its history or in the last ten/fifteen years. That kind of data helps evaluate a comment

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MRS

Sep 27, 2014 09:22pm

@Reality Check What made you to conclude that PM was not lying? and thank you for informing us that one can lie on floor of house but cannot be held accountable. This gives us a reason to change the system.

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Guest64

Sep 27, 2014 10:35pm

I was under the impression that as per the constitution Two things are very clear " 1- The PM has immunity and can not be prosecuted as such ... 2- Thatwhat ever is said and don on the floor of the parliament , CAN NOT be challenged in any court of law ! so whats the SCP doing in this case and why t is constituting even a larger bench to hear the case ??? UNLESS the last bits of the London Plan ( which IK has been boasting tat SCP & CJP will declare the undeclarrable scenario i.e dismissing the PM and forcing a change which even theparliament has refused to do ......... Is It A Constitutionalism , we are heading into ??? I wonde may be the final jigsaw of the so called ondon plan eventually is rearing its head in this form.... Can any constitutional expert and an authority on the Parlaimentary working process , Please tell us and enlightn us , whats going on ere ????

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malick.

Sep 27, 2014 11:31pm

false statements are punishable.

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Fakhir

Sep 28, 2014 12:39am

Who can decide whether PM lied or ISPR is lying? There can be no proof of lying. Since, this petition is merely a waste of time.

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Qazi Zarak

Sep 28, 2014 12:51am

@malick. What is the proof that PM lied?

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The Man

Sep 28, 2014 01:50am

Dawn reports that it took 2 decades for Indian courts to convict CM Tamil Nadu: http://www.dawn.com/news/1134701/indian-court-convicts-jayalalithaa-jayaram-for-graft. Mashalah Our courts are so efficient that the petition was filed and hearing is on the 29th (same month). Convenient and interesting

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Mohammed A. Sukhera,USA

Sep 28, 2014 03:02am

What a waste of public money to form a SC bench on petty things? Are they partners in the script? Seems like it.

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ahmed K

Sep 28, 2014 03:54am

Parliamentarians cannot be held accountable for what is said on the floor of the house. Straight forward dismissal of the case. I wonder why SC accepted the case for hearing? Smells like LONDON GATE

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