ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) filed in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday a reference seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for allegedly concealing his assets.
The 72-page reference filed by PTI leader Yasmin Rashid said the prime minister had not mentioned the offshore companies revealed in the Panama Papers in his statements of assets submitted to the ECP. Since the matter came under the qualification and disqualification clauses of the Constitution, the commission should declare the prime minister disqualified to hold the office.
Talking to reporters after filing the reference, Yasmin Rashid claimed that concrete evidence had been provided to the ECP and expressed the confidence that the prime minister would stand disqualified on the basis of the proof offered by her. She urged the ECP to do justice.
PTI spokesman Naeemul Haq, who was present on the occasion, referred to the failure of the parliamentary committee to reach a consensus on the terms of reference (ToR) for the proposed Panama Papers inquiry commission and said time had come to knock at the doors of the judiciary.
He expressed the hope that members of the ECP would be appointed before Eid, pointing out that a number of cases were pending before the commission because of the absence of its members.
The ECP told the PTI that like other cases its reference would also be heard after the appointment of new members.
Meanwhile, on the order of the Supreme Court, the ECP has repatriated the services of two senior officers to the apex court.
ECP’s additional secretary Syed Sher Afgan and protocol officer of the Chief Election Commissioner Mushtaq Ahmad had come on deputation from the Supreme Court.
Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2016
