Govt to approach SC to undo Dar's Senate membership suspension

PTI wants to de-seat Dar and get Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin elected to upper house

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government has decided to approach the Supreme Court with a request to withdraw the apex court's order that suspended the Senate membership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar in May 2018.

Dar was elected as a senator on a technocrat seat from Punjab in 2018, but he didn't take his oath owing to his stay in London on health grounds. However, on May 8, 2018, a three-judge bench led by former chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar suspended his membership over his failure to appear in court despite repeated summons.

A senior government functionary revealed to The Express Tribune that the government will move an application for the withdrawal of its May 8, 2018 order. The application will be submitted next week.

Earlier, PML-N Senator Ishaq Dar informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that he was ready to take oath as a member of the upper house of parliament but the only hurdle in doing so was a Supreme Court suspension order of May 2018.

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The announcement from the PML-N’s former finance minister came amid efforts by the government to de-seat Dar so that Shukat Tarin, who is the incumbent finance minister, can become a senator.

“The Supreme Court suspended the notification of my election through its order dated May 8, 2018,” the PML-N leader told The Express Tribune, adding that a civil appeal was still pending adjudication.

Dar maintained that he had sent a letter to the ECP on September 29, stating that he had not taken oath as a Senate member, nor was he in a position to take so because of the suspension order of the top court.

The former finance minister, who is currently in the UK, has also sent a copy of the letter to Senate Chairperson Sadiq Sanjrani.