Setback for PTI: SC throws out pleas seeking PM’s disqualification

Says the petitioners failed to substantiate their argument.

ISLAMABAD:

More than two months of legal wrangling and marathon hearings culminated on Tuesday with the Supreme Court dismissing all petitions seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

A seven-judge larger bench of the top court, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, heard four identical petitions – three of them filed by PTI leader Ishaq Khan Khakwani and one by PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain – accusing the prime minister of lying on the floor of the National Assembly during the prevailing political impasse that gripped the country on August 14.



The petitioners claimed that Prime Minister Nawaz had requested army chief General Raheel Sharif to act as a ‘mediator’ between the government and the PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and serve as a ‘guarantor’ to any agreement with the protesting parties. However, the premier later denied making any such request, the petitioners said, requesting the court to disqualify Nawaz Sharif from holding his office in view of Article 63 of the Constitution.

During Tuesday’s  arguments, which lasted over two hours, lawyers from both sides clashed over the merits of the petitions.  However, a majority of the court seemed inclined to rule in favour of the government as the petitioners failed to substantiate their claims that the prime minister had lied in the National Assembly.

The lead counsel for the petitioners, Irfan Qadir, contended that Nawaz’s statement in the parliament had been denied by the army chief. However, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa noted that the premier had not made a direct reference to the army and had only endorsed Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s opinion. Appearing to dismiss the counsel’s arguments, Justice Khosa remarked, “Where is the lie? What is the basis of this case?”



The chief justice, meanwhile, questioned the petitioners’ counsel on the merits of the case. “How can you say that the prime minister asked the army chief to play the role of facilitator? Which fundamental right of the petitioner has been violated in this matter?” enquired Justice Mulk.

Earlier, another challenger Gohar Nawaz Sindhu, who had filed a writ petition against the rejection of his plea by the Lahore High Court, also failed to convince the larger SC bench that the high court was the competent forum to convict the prime minister in this case.

Hearing the writ petition, the chief justice said the high court could not convict or frame charges against any individual under Article 199 of the Constitution. Along similar lines, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar questioned whether the court could convict anyone in a constitutional petition.

Weighing in on the matter, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja pointed out that it was important to determine whether the high court could reject a writ petition on the pretext that it raised political questions.

Last month, a three-judge bench, headed by Justice Khawaja, had framed several questions and referred the prime minister’s disqualification case to the chief justice, who subsequently decided to constitute a seven-member larger bench to hear the pleas.

The court had also appointed three amicus curaie (friends of the court) namely Hamid Khan, Raza Rabbani and Khawaja Haris to assist the bench during the course of the proceedings.

Talking to reporters outside the court, Irfan Qadir raised questions over why the bench did not hear the stance of the amicus curaie, who were present in the courtroom during the hearing.

Endorsing the court’s ruling, senior lawyer Tariq Mahmood said that the petitioners had failed to sway the judges that the premier had lied before the parliament.

Though the court’s final judgment would not be issued immediately, Tuesday’s ruling appears to be a major setback for the PTI, adding to a cascade of bad news for the party’s legal wing which began an ambitious battle to oust the prime minister from office by challenging last year’s elections. With the disqualification petitions out of the way, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his political coterie will heave a sigh of relief, with one less challenge to address.


Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2014.