Khattak, Qaiser directed to respond to petition seeking their disqualification

Both public officials accused of violating oath to protect Constitution.

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser have been issued notices by the Peshawar High Court to submit their written replies to a petition seeking their disqualification from public office.

PHC Bar Association Secretary General Muhammad Ayaz Khan filed a petition in the high court on September 6 seeking Khattak and Qaiser’s disqualification from their offices for “violating their oaths by promoting civil disobedience and protesting against the federal government.”

On Wednesday, the petitioner told the two-member bench of Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Ikramullah Khan that Khattak and Qaiser are actively taking part in the protests in Islamabad. Both Khattak and Qaiser belong to the PTI.

The petitioner said when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan announced the civil disobedience movement at the Azadi march, CM Khattak endorsed it the very next day and has been participating in the protest in Islamabad since last month.

“The CM and assembly speaker have taken an oath to preserve the Constitution and work under the law,” said Ayaz Khan. “However, their current actions of participating in an anti-government protest are against their oaths.”

The court then issued notices to the CM and the speaker to submit their written replies before the next date of hearing. It also issued notices seeking the respondents’ reply to the petitioner’s request to the court to restrain both individuals from performing their official duties and using perks, privileges and protocol for an interim period till the petition is disposed.

Not advocating civil disobedience

The petition which was submitted last week states PTI, K-P’s ruling party, has become so desperate to get its demands accepted that its leadership has publicly announced civil disobedience and asked the people of K-P to abstain from paying utility bills and taxes. Being members of the PTI, Khattak and Qaiser have not only been participating in the ongoing protest in the federal capital but are also advocating the notion of civil disobedience, the petition adds.

Accusing the respondents of using the public’s money, the petitioner writes, “It was learnt through reliable sources that the CM and speaker utilised public money and resources from the provincial government to facilitate and finance the sit-in which I consider to be dishonesty and corruption of the worst degree.”

Further criticising the respondents’ actions, the petition states the official business of K-P has been put on the backburner as elected representatives remain in Islamabad.

“The official activities in the province are at a standstill yet the CM and speaker are enjoying official perks and privileges. Is it not an official deceit of the highest degree?” it questions.

Since mid-August, PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek have been holding a sit-in the federal capital against the central government. Accusing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of coming to power through rigging, the leaders of both parties are calling for resignations from the PM and the Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2014.