Sindh High Court. PHOTO: EXPRESS
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) sought on Friday comments from the counsel of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) at the next hearing in a petition against top leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for holding Iqama (work permit).
A two-member bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, heard petitions seeking disqualifications of Suhail Anwar Siyal, Faryal Talpur and Manzoor Wassan among others for holding Iqamas of certain countries and not disclosing them in their nomination papers.
The petitioner's counsel, Shamsul Islam, said that Talpur had not disclosed her Iqama and her assets in Dubai in her nomination papers. He prayed that all public offices should be withdrawn from Talpur until the verdict is announced.
He said that Talpur had established a company in the name of her daughter, Aisha, in 2002 in Dubai and she did not mention it in her nomination papers.
He said that those companies, which were kept hidden, have already been disclosed in the money laundering case. Talpur's assets increased quickly, he said, but its source was not disclosed. Islam argued that Talpur had 'benami' property in Dubai and her counsel had misinformed the court regarding her companies.
He appealed to the court that Talpur should be disqualified as an MPA in light of Nawaz Sharif's case. "The verdict of the Supreme Court is apparent; those who submit fake affidavits, will stand disqualified from the assembly membership," he said.
Justice Faisal Arab had written an important note in this regard in the Hanif Abbasi case, Islam said, adding that Nawaz was disqualified for hiding the salary he received from his son's company.
Talpur's counsel, Farooq H Naik, informed the court that there was no column pertaining to Iqama in the nomination papers. Iqama is not a citizenship of any country but a permit for permanent residency, he argued, adding that there is no column in the nomination papers pertaining to the permanent residency of another country. "Talpur had gotten her Iqama cancelled before taking part in the 2018 general elections," he said.
He said that Nawaz was not disqualified for holding Iqama, but for hiding salary. To this, Justice Mazhar remarked, "What about the Khawaja Asif case? Have you read it?"
Naik told the court that his client had not misinformed and neither did she hide her assets or property.
The petitioner stated that Talpur, Siyal and others could no longer be considered 'Sadiq and Ameen' as they had submitted fake affidavits.
The petitioner further said that Talpur had hidden the details of transferring money to Dubai and a case should be registered against her after disqualifying her from the membership of the Sindh Assembly.
He appealed to the court that PPP leaders Nasir Hussain Shah, Wassan, Siyal, Sardar Chandio and others should also be disqualified.
The court adjourned the hearing till November 23.
Appointment of STBB chief
The SHC sought a report from the chief secretary and others and directed them to submit replies within 15 days in a petition against the appointment of a grade-19 officer as the Sindh Text Book Board (STBB) chairperson.
The SHC heard the petition against the appointment of a junior official and sought a report from the Sindh government.
The counsel for the petitioner informed the court that the court had ordered on March 20 for permanent appointment of the STBB chairperson after removing Agha Suhail Pathan, an official of grade-19.
He said that the court had ordered to appoint a new chairperson within a month after the assurance of Sindh government, but despite the court orders, the grade-19 officer has been working as the chairperson for the past eight months.
The counsel informed the court that the education system in Sindh is being affected due to the appointment of a junior officer as the STBB chairperson. He pleaded the court to issue orders for the appointment of a grade-20 official as the chairperson in view of the orders of the apex court.
China-cutting case
The SHC sought details of a reference from an accountability court pertaining to a case of china-cutting of 227 plots in the Lines Area Development Project.
A two-member bench of the SHC heard the bail plea of former project director, Fareed Ahmed Yousfani, of the Lines Area Development Project in the references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials.
The bench sought details of the reference from the accountability court and adjourned the hearing till December 4. NAB had stated that the accused were involved in the china-cutting of 227 plots, causing losses of billions of rupees to the national exchequer. The accused include Yousfani, Fareed Naseem, Shahid Umar, additional director Atta Abbas and Rashid Naseem.
The reference of the alleged scam is being heard in an accountability court.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 17th, 2018.
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