PESHAWAR, Aug 29: Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, has constituted a special bench for hearing two identical writ petitions, challenging the resignation condition for local council Nazims and Naib Nazims before filing of nomination papers for the scheduled general elections. The bench comprising Justice Ijazul Hassan and Justice Qaim Jan Khan will hear the petitions on Friday.

The petitioners, district Karak’s Naib Nazim, Malik Qasim and a union Nazim of Hangu district, Amanullah Khan, have stated that section 158 of the NWFP Local Government Ordinance, 2001, placing bar on contesting of polls by Nazims and Naib Nazims while holding these posts, was in violation of Article 223 of the Constitution and Representation of Peoples Act, 1976.

They have prayed the court to declare the recent amendment made in section 158 of the NWFP Local Government Ordinance by the provincial government in conflict with Article 223 of the Constitution and its incorporation in the law in excess of the powers of the NWFP governor.

The case was fixed on Thursday before a two-member bench comprising Justice Tariq Pervaiz and Justice Qaim Jan Khan. Justice Pervaiz observed that as last year he had decided some petitions regarding the same provision, therefore it would not be fair for this bench to hear these petitions. The bench referred the petitions to the chief justice for constituting a special bench for hearing it as no other bench was available due to summer vacations.

An appeal against the last year’s judgment of the high court has been pending before the Supreme Court, and the apex court had already stopped operation on that verdict till final disposal of the appeal.

Lawyers Abdul Lateef Afridi and Asghar Kundi appeared for the petitioners and argued that through a provincial law restrictions could not be placed on issues pertaining to a federal statute. They contended that the NWFP Local Government Ordinance was a provincial law and it pertained to the local councils.

The petitioners stated that the general elections were governed by the Representation of Peoples Act and could not be covered through the provincial law. They contended that a federal statute had an overriding effect over a provincial law.

Both the petitioners have referred to Article 223 of the Constitution, stating that a political office holder could contest polls for other offices provided that he would relinquish one of the posts after elections.