SC dismisses Qadri's ECP reconstitution petition
Qadri questioned chief justice about his loyalty under former dictator Pervez Musharraf’s PCO oath.
Tahirul Qadri speaking to the media outside Supreme Court on Tuesday. PHOTO: ONLINE/ FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by Minhajul Quran International (MQI) chief Tahirul Qadri for reconstitution of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday, reported Express News.
In its short order, the three-member bench maintained that Qadri failed in proving the eligibility of his petition. The court also stated that Qadri cannot run for elections.
During the hearing, the bench questioned Qadri’s loyalty under Queen Elizabeth’s oath. To this, Qadri addressed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry saying that if the CJ’s loyalty cannot be termed suspicious for his PCO oath, then his oath under Queen Elizabeth cannot be questioned either.
The chief justice remarked that Qadri should know that former dictator Pervez Musharraf was the president in 2005 and every chief justice takes oath under the president.
Irked by Qadri’s response, the bench warned him that the hearing of his petition will be adjourned indefinitely if he addresses the bench in such a manner. Qadri was then requested to step down from the rostrum.
The bench then questioned the attorney general regarding the eligibility of Qadri’s petition. The attorney general advised the bench to focus on the petition instead of his character.
The lawyer, representing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), told the bench that Qadri had called for delaying the elections for two years during his rally in Lahore on December 23.
When Qadri denied giving any such statement, the court ordered for the recording of his Lahore rally to be presented to the court.
‘Petition not heard’
Qadri complained that the apex court kept questioning him about his dual nationality for three days of the hearing rather than focusing on the main petition. He was speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court.
“This is on record. There was no hearing held for the appointment of ECP members. The court should have called the parliamentary committee members and asked for the minutes of their meeting. All of this would have proved that the constitution of the election commission was unconstitutional,” Qadri said while explaining his petition.
“With due respect to the judiciary, I want to tell the people the truth. They did not even let me read out a single word from my petition. When I started reading it out yesterday, they did not listen to me and asked me about my dual nationality instead,” he added.
Qadri also said that he became furious when the court attacked all dual nationals. “There are millions of Pakistanis who are loyal to Pakistan and are dual nationals. They add billions of rupees to Pakistan’s economy... Their loyalty was questioned.”
The Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by Minhajul Quran International (MQI) chief Tahirul Qadri for reconstitution of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday, reported Express News.
In its short order, the three-member bench maintained that Qadri failed in proving the eligibility of his petition. The court also stated that Qadri cannot run for elections.
During the hearing, the bench questioned Qadri’s loyalty under Queen Elizabeth’s oath. To this, Qadri addressed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry saying that if the CJ’s loyalty cannot be termed suspicious for his PCO oath, then his oath under Queen Elizabeth cannot be questioned either.
The chief justice remarked that Qadri should know that former dictator Pervez Musharraf was the president in 2005 and every chief justice takes oath under the president.
Irked by Qadri’s response, the bench warned him that the hearing of his petition will be adjourned indefinitely if he addresses the bench in such a manner. Qadri was then requested to step down from the rostrum.
The bench then questioned the attorney general regarding the eligibility of Qadri’s petition. The attorney general advised the bench to focus on the petition instead of his character.
The lawyer, representing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), told the bench that Qadri had called for delaying the elections for two years during his rally in Lahore on December 23.
When Qadri denied giving any such statement, the court ordered for the recording of his Lahore rally to be presented to the court.
‘Petition not heard’
Qadri complained that the apex court kept questioning him about his dual nationality for three days of the hearing rather than focusing on the main petition. He was speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court.
“This is on record. There was no hearing held for the appointment of ECP members. The court should have called the parliamentary committee members and asked for the minutes of their meeting. All of this would have proved that the constitution of the election commission was unconstitutional,” Qadri said while explaining his petition.
“With due respect to the judiciary, I want to tell the people the truth. They did not even let me read out a single word from my petition. When I started reading it out yesterday, they did not listen to me and asked me about my dual nationality instead,” he added.
Qadri also said that he became furious when the court attacked all dual nationals. “There are millions of Pakistanis who are loyal to Pakistan and are dual nationals. They add billions of rupees to Pakistan’s economy... Their loyalty was questioned.”