ISLAMABAD, Nov 21: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the federal government and attorney-general to justify the promulgation of a law, barring those who were defeated in October elections to contest the Senate election.
The five-judges bench, specially constituted to hear the petitions on Thursday after hearing Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, counsel for Javed Jabbar, decided to issue notice to the federation and attorney-general.
The petitioners, Javed Jabbar and Ayub Khattak, challenged Article 8 AA of the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002, barring those who were defeated in the general elections to vie for the Senate.
Justice Munir A. Sheikh, senior member of the bench observed that the principle on which the amendment introduced to bar the defeated politicians, was prime facie, wrong.
Justice Munir further observed that some ladies who lost in the general elections have come to National Assembly on the special seats reserved for women.
Abdul Hafeez Pirzada argued that the constitutional deviation which the apex court had condoned, had expired at the passage of three years.
He asked the court to adjourn the case for a few days, as the country was passing through transitional phase and it was always a difficult act to go back from military to civilian rule.
When the court pointed out that in the previous military government had also enacted a similar law, the counsel stated that it was issued prior to the holding of elections, but the impugned law was issued 19 days after holding of elections.
The counsel said the Supreme Court in Nusrat Bhutto had not fixed the tenure of the military government. But in Syed Zafar Ali Shah case the Supreme Court fixed three years period for the military government to wind up. In 1977, the constitutional deviation was through Martial Law but in 1999 it was through proclamation of emergency, he added.
The counsel said the fact that the House was divided on the transitional period, was frightening him. He said if the House, by a simple majority rejected the LFO, the country would be in anarchic situation.