Musharraf’s counsel said the tribunal had disqualified him on the basis of allegations, which was against the norms of justice. DESIGN: FAIZAN DAWOOD
The question of whether General (retired) Pervez Musharraf should be allowed to contest the elections is a serious one as it does not merely concern a default on water or electricity bills, but the abrogation of the Constitution of Pakistan.
This was the observation of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah during Thursday’s hearing of the former president and army chief’s petition challenging an election tribunal’s decision to bar him from the polls at NA-139, Kasur, on the grounds that he did not meet the requirements for parliamentarians set in Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution. The case has come up before a full bench of the Lahore High Court.
Musharraf’s counsel responded to Justice Shah’s remarks, stating that the Sindh High Court had used the term ‘abrogation’ of the Constitution only once in its judgement, so it could have been “a slip of the pen”, and hence the full bench should not give too much weight to the term. Justice Ijazul Ahsan said that the single world in the judgment was important. The bench put off the hearing till Monday.
The petitioner’s counsel said that Musharraf had not been convicted by any court of law. The tribunal had disqualified him on the basis of allegations, which was against the norms of justice. He asked the court to overturn the tribunal’s ruling and allow him to contest the elections.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 3rd, 2013.
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