KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday again directed a petitioner to satisfy it about the maintainability of a petition impugning the appointment of Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister.

A two-judge SHC bench remarked that the petitioner had to satisfy the court first about the maintainability of the subject matter and then it would proceed further.

The bench was headed by SHC Chief Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui.

A regular litigant petitioned the SHC in May and asked it to declare the subject appointment as unconstitutional and unlawful since the petitioner asserted that there was no provision in the Constitution and other relevant laws for such appointment.

Citing the Cabinet Division, Prime Minister Secretariat and others as respondents, the petitioner had contended that the cause of action arose when the impugned notification was issued on April 28, prima facie in infringement of the fundamental rights of public.

At the previous hearing, the bench had asked the petitioner to produce relevant documents, including a copy of a notification issued in respect of former deputy prime minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi.

At the outset of hearing on Friday, the petitioner submitted that he impleaded Mr Dar as new respondent in the petition and asked the court to issue a notice to him with direction to file reply.

However, the chief justice inquired from the petitioner about copies of a notification of the former deputy PM and a court order reportedly issued against such appointment.

The petitioner argued that he had asked the Cabinet Division for a copy of such document and would produce the same as soon as he got the same.

Thereafter, the bench adjourned the hearing for a date to be fixed after two weeks.

On May 3, a division bench of the SHC directed the petitioner to satisfy it about the maintainability of a petition and around a couple of weeks later, another bench had issued pre-admission notices to the respondents.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2024