LAHORE: A retired judge has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, federal ministers, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan for alleged violation of oath.

Faisal Naseer Khan, a former justice of Supreme Court, pleads in his petition that the respondents took personal benefits and failed to protect fundamental rights of citizens in violation of their oath.

He states that the respondents are public servants being paid from taxpayers’ money but they are negating the oath of their offices.

The petitioner says the respondents should be declared disqualified for violating their oath and the Constitution and their names should also be put on the exit control list (ECL).

He further pleads that allowances, perks and privileges enjoyed by the respondents should be recovered after their disqualification with effect from the day they took oath [of the assemblies]. The federal ministers named in the petition as respondents include foreign minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif, interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, railways minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq, state information minister Maryam Aurangzeb and state minister for water and power Abid Sher Ali.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2017