LHC CJ to hear petition challenging Sherry Rehman's appointment on Nov 28

Justice Khalid Mahmood forwarded the petition to CJ's court since an identical petition was pending there already.

LAHORE: Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh of Lahore High Court will hold a preliminary hearing on an application challenging Sherry Rehman’s appointment as Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States.

The petition, filed earlier this week, was heard by Justice Khalid Mahmood on Friday. After hearing the arguments, he forwarded it to the court of Chief Justice since an identical petition was already pending before Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh. Hence the recent application would be fixed before same bench he said. Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh will hear the petition on November 28.

Advocate Muhammad Azhar Siddique had filed an application in his constitutional petition seeking Rehman’s disqualification for presenting a Bill for making purposed amendments in Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Court relating to offence of blasphemy. He had requested the court to declare her disqualification in holding a national assembly seat in view of the bar contained in Article 62(d), 62(e), 62(f) and 62(g) of the Constitution of Islamic republic of Pakistan, 1973.

In his application, Siddique stated that during the pendency of the constitutional petition and without deciding the fate to proceed under Section 295-C the government in malafides and in violation of the settled law had appointed Sherry Rehman as Ambassador to the United States.

He also stated that Sherry Rehman, being a member of the National Assembly could not be appointed to any government post. He stated that Sherry is still holding a seat of MNA and in this view she is disqualified to be nominated or appointed as ambassador to any country because ambassador is an employee of Service of Pakistan.

He requested the court to declare appointment of Sherry as ambassador to the US as illegal.

Sherry Rehman had earlier on Friday resigned from her seat in the National Assembly to take up her new appointment of Pakistan’s ambassador to United States.