Court adjourns petition against Zardari

Petition challenges dual offices of Zardari as the president of Pakistan and co-chairman of PPP.

KARACHI: A full bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Maqbool Baqar on Wednesday ordered repeating notices to President Asif Ali Zardari and the attorney general of Pakistan.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by a lawyer Rasheed Ahmad Akhund, challenging the dual offices of President Zardari as the president of Pakistan and the co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party.

The petitioner maintained that the constitutionally apolitical nature of the office of the president is violated when the office holder is the head of the party leading the coalition government.

The petitioner accused the president of infringing upon the position of the prime minister by chairing cabinet and official meetings while holding dual offices.

The petitioner also sought action against the federal law minister Baber Awan for influencing bar associations by distributing cash grants amongst them.

Upon examining the file, the bench found out that President Asif Ali Zardari has not yet been served with the notice of the petition. Besides, neither the attorney general nor his deputy was present at the hearing.

The bench then adjourned the proceedings to an unspecified date, despite the plea of the petitioner for the fixing of a date.

An identical petition pending hearing before Lahore High Court was also adjourned on Wednesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2010.