IHC issues notice in plea over Sanjrani as acting president

The Constitution states that a person should be 45 years old to hold the presidential office

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a notice to the Attorney General of Pakistan on a petition challenging appointment of Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani as acting president in the absence of President Mamnoon Hussain.

Justice Aamer Farooq issued the notice to the Attorney General Syed Ashtar Ausaf Ali on the petition challenging Sanjrani’s appointment as the constitution requires a candidate who is minimum 45 years of age.



 

On May 15, Advocate Afzal Khan Shinwari filed a petition stating that Sanjrani cannot become the acting president of Pakistani because he does not meet the requirements of the constitution.

According to Article 49 of the Constitution, the Senate chairman becomes the acting president in the absence of the head of state. However, Article 41 states that the individual needs to be more than 45 years of age.

The petition argues that Sanjrani is 40 years old and does not fulfill the basic requirement. “Sanjrani is therefore not qualified to hold the office of the president even in the acting capacity,” the petition argues.

The petitioner further states that President Mamnoon Hussain departed to perform Umrah on May 15 and in his absence Sanjrani is to take the seat as acting president until Hussain’s return.



Shinwari, in his petition, argues that the Senate secretariat committed “a grave error and an illegality,” in their appointment of Sanjrani as Senate chairman keeping in mind the Articles of the Constitution.

Shinwari alleges that the office of the president has been “illegally usurped”, and demands that the May 14 notification issued by the Senate secretariat be termed “unconstitutional, illegal and unlawful as well as null and void.”