Nawaz out, Shahbaz in

Published July 29, 2017

ISLAMABAD: Accepting the Sup­reme Court judgement despite “serious reservations”, the top leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Friday vowed to file a review petition and endorsed the nomination of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif as the next prime minister.

Erstwhile prime minister Nawaz Sharif proposed the name of his younger brother to see out the remaining 10 months of his party’s term in office during a meeting of senior party members at the PM House. Mr Sharif chaired the meeting, which was held after he announced his decision to step down as prime minister in the light of the Supreme Court verdict.

However, the party will have to nominate someone as interim prime minister to enable Shahbaz Sharif to contest for a National Assembly seat. The party is expected to announce the name of their pick for interim prime minister during a parliamentary party meeting, which will be held today (Saturday).

PML-N Information Secretary Mushahidullah Khan told Dawn the party had decided to bring in Shahbaz Sharif from Punjab as the new leader of the house in the National Assembly. However, he claimed there had been no discussion on names for a possible interim prime minister.

According to party sources, Khawaja Asif, Rana Tanveer, Ahsan Iqbal, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Khurram Dastagir Khan and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq are among those who can be nominated to lead the government in the interim period. A final decision, however, will be taken by Nawaz Sharif himself.

PML-N accepts SC verdict with ‘serious reservations’; vows to file review petition; stopgap PM to be nominated today

Earlier in the day, shortly after the announcement of the SC judgement, Nawaz Sharif relinquished the office of prime minister without waiting for a formal notification from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

A handout from the PM House, quoting a PML-N spokesperson, said that Nawaz Sharif had “relinquished” the office of prime minister, despite “strong reservations” over the verdict.

Reacting to the court’s order, the spokesperson said the party would utilise all legal and constitutional means to contest the verdict.

The federal cabinet also stood dissolved after Nawaz Sharif relinquished his responsibilities as the prime minister.

Following his disqualification, Mr Sharif also cannot hold the office of party president. Under the Political Parties Order (PPO) 2002, a convicted or disqualified person cannot hold any party office.

A proviso in Section 5 of the PPO 2002 states: “Provided that a person shall not be appointed or serve as an office-bearer of a political party if he is not qualified to be, or is disqualified from being, elected or chosen as a member of the Majlis-i-Shoora (Parliament) under Article 63 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan or under any other law for the time being in force.”

It was due to the same provision, introduced by former president Gen Pervez Musharraf, that Mr Sharif had to appoint Javed Hashmi as party president after his conviction in the hijacking case.

Later on Friday evening, Mr Sharif vacated the Prime Minister House and moved into Punjab House.

‘With a heavy heart’

Addressing a news conference at Punjab House later in the evening, members of the Nawaz Sharif cabinet bitterly criticised the SC verdict and announced that the party would use all “legal and constitutional options” available to challenge the decision.

Former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique termed July 28 “a black day”. He said the party had directed its workers to remain calm and peaceful, adding that there would be no chaos in the country.

“This is not happening to us for the first time. We know the crime of Nawaz Sharif; we want civilian supremacy in the country,” he said.

He claimed Mr Sharif never took dictation and had faced a similar situation when he gave the country its first nuclear bomb. Now, he said, Mr Sharif was being targeted for bringing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to the country.

Taking aim at PTI chairman Imran Khan, he said those who had staged sit-ins and threatened to lock down the country were simply “puppets” in the hands of international conspirators and expressed the hope that the PML-N would stage a comeback.

Mr Rafique said the time had come to change the rules of the game before the next general elections. He said they would have to stop institutions from interfering into others’ domains and lamented that Articles 62 and 63 were “encroachments in the Constitution”.

“It is our incompetence that we could not strike them from the Constitution,” he added.

He said those who were celebrating today would repent tomorrow after realising their mistake.

Former petroleum minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the court’s verdict was not unexpected for them, while Barrister Zafarullah Khan expressed surprise over the judgement, saying that “the ends of justice have not been met.”

He said the petitioners had sought the disqualification of the prime minister for owning the London flats and tax evasion, but the court had given its verdict merely on a “minor technicality.”

“History will judge the judges,” Mr Zafarullah said, adding that this decision would be added to the list of controversial verdicts in matters such as the Moulvi Tamizuddin case, Nusrat Bhutto case and Syed Zafar Ali Shah case.

He said they were surprised to learn that the judgement would be announced by five judges, instead of the three who had actually heard arguments in the light of the JIT report.

He also expressed concern over the decision that an SC judge would monitor the proceedings of references against the Sharif family before the accountability court.

Mr Zafarullah said the opposition had been accusing Mr Sharif of committing corruption worth Rs50 billion, but neither the JIT nor the SC was able to prove any corruption allegation against the Sharifs.

Former law minister Zahid Hamid claimed the SC had given “such a serious verdict” on a “disputed question of fact”. He said the court in its verdict had not given any findings on the real issue, which was Panamagate.

Mr Hamid said the prime minister had been disqualified on the basis of a certificate showing that he held the ceremonial office of chairman of the board in a UAE-based company, owned by his son.

Former planning minister Ahsan Iqbal said the verdict might be taught as a “case study” in the world as the judgement was entirely different from the prayer of the petitioners. He said the PML-N government would complete its term by employing all legal and constitutional options at its disporal.

He said there was presently no government in the country and held the court responsible for this vacuum, as it had not given any roadmap for the transition. He, however, said that the president would soon convene a session of the National Assembly for the election of the new leader of the house.

Responding to a question, Mr Rafiq said the PML-N was holding consultations with its legal team so they could file a review petition.

The ruling party’s allies also extended unconditional support to the PML-N, saying that they are not in the race for the office of the prime minister and would continue to support the party, both inside and outside parliament.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was present at a meeting of PML-N members, whereas sources said that Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Mehmood Achakzai and National Party’s Hasil Bizenjo also spoke to Mr Sharif after the verdict was announced.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2017

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