PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking the removal of provincial governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra for holding a political party’s office.

The development came after the governor’s lawyer, Haziq Ali Shah, and additional attorney general Manzoor Khalil informed Justice Roohul Amin Khan Chamkani and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan that Mr Jhagra didn’t hold the office of the PML-N’s central general secretary.

The petition was filed by former deputy attorney general Khursheed Khan, who prayed that the court order the removal of Mr Jhagra as governor as he recently the office of the PML-N’s central general secretary after formal appointment.

The petitioner had also requested the court to recover all perks and privileges from the governor he received after assuming his party’s office.

Lawyer, additional attorney general insist Jhagra doesn’t hold PML-N office

He had requested the court to stop Mr Jhagra from functioning as the governor until the final disposal of the petition.

The respondents in the petition were governor Jhagra, principal secretary to him, and the federal government through law secretary.

The governor’s lawyer denied the petitioner’s claim about his client becoming the PML-N’s general secretary and insisted the party’s central secretariat didn’t issue any notification regarding that appointment.

He added that the petitioner must have some misunderstanding about that appointment.

Additional attorney general Manzoor Khalil said he had got the lawyer’s claim verified and learned that Mr Jhagra had not been appointed general secretary by the PML-N.

The petitioner said he had learned about Mr Jhagra’s appointment to the PML-N office through some new items, which could be produced in the court.

He said being a public office holder, the governor could not hold any other office under the Political Parties Order, 2002, and Constitution of Pakistan.

The bench wondered how it could rely on news items when no official notification of the appointment in question was available.

Mr Haziq said the PML-N central secretariat had also issued a clarification that no notification was made of the appointment of Mr Jhagra as the party’s general secretary.

He added that if the petitioner’s contention was accepted about the presence of news items in that regard, then it would become a factual controversy over which the petitioner could not approach the court under Article 199 of the Constitution.

The petitioner contended that if subsequently he found any notification by the PML-N about appointment of Mr Jhagra as general secretary, he would file a contempt of court petition against respondents.

In the petition, Khursheed Khan had alleged that the governor had assumed the charge of general secretary and had also started running the affairs of the party.

He had claimed that under the law holder of a public office could not become office bearer of a political party.

The petitioner had claimed that the governor had become disqualified after assuming charge of the party’s office.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2018