Petitioner questions legality of MQM’s referendum
As the Muttahida Qaumi Movement rescheduled its referendum from November 8 to November 14, the Sindh High Court put off the hearing of a petition challenging the legal status of the referendum till November 13.
MQM had announced to hold a referendum across the country on Thursday to ask people whether they would like to live in a Pakistan run by the Taliban or the one envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam. But due to the dates of IDEAS 2012 - the country’s most prominent arms fair - referendum was rescheduled.
On Wednesday, the SHC put off the hearing of the petition by Haji Gul Ahmed as the legal work was suspended in the courts following demise of a senior lawyer.
Ahmed had challenged the legal status of the referendum by filing a petition in the SHC. The respondents in the petition include National Assembly speaker, Senate Chairman, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, and MQM Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar.
Petitioner maintained that according to Articles 5 and 48 of the Constitution, only the prime minister is empowered to conduct a referendum after he/she seeks approval from the parliament in its joint session.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 8th, 2012.
COMMENTS (4)
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Seems like a staged drama!
The petitioner appears to suffer from a peurile
semantic confusion . The word 'referendum ' is a common
word of English language , and its every use is not to be
confused with 'Referendum' provided in the constitution.
A bar council or a chamber of commerce can hold
referendum to ascertain views of their members on any
issue . The Constitution employs a host of common words
which does not bar their use in non-constitutional
contexts . Let us hope we don't get petitions , say ,
for annuling election for president of pakistan bar council because it does
not follow provisions in the Constitution
for election of the president( of Pakistan ).The
referendum being held by MQM has no connection with
'Referendum' provided in the constitution .
Nothing can be far from such foolish idea of calling for a referendum, which by law can only be organized by the federal government. I never knew that Altaf Hussain runs the Federation
Like they claimed, Taliban have there eyes on this Gold Pot for funding and resources. They have found biggest team of supporters from different corners of the city. Lets see how our educated defends against the swarm of sort-of Modern Genghis Khan's army. It's established: Understanding a problem is Half the Solution. At this moment Modern political leaders wish they had better reputation with the common folks for support.