Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Tuesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Act 2017, which paved the way for ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif to regain leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) despite his disqualification in the Panama Papers case.

The petition was filed by PPP secretary-general Nayyar Bukhari through advocate Sardar Latif Khosa under Article 185 (3) of the constitution, making the Federation of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, Senate, National Assembly and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as respondents.

The petition prays the court to declare the provisions of Section 203 of the Election Act 2017 as subject to the trappings of Article 62 and 63 of the constitution and being contrary to the spirit of fundamental rights sanctified by Article 9, 14 and 17 of the constitution. It further prays the court to declare the re-election of Nawaz Sharif as president of PML-N as ultra vires of Article 2-A of the constitution and direct the ECP to remove his name as head of PML-N from the notified list of enlisted political parties. The petition said the federal government being run by the PML-N headed by Nawaz Sharif, who was disqualified as the premier and the member of the parliament by Supreme Court on July 28, be adjudged as functioning without lawful authority and consequently restrained from governance till removal of Nawaz Sharif as president of PML-N.

The petition requests the court to prohibit the prime minister and the members of the cabinet to accompany the entourage of Nawaz Sharif while going to attend his date of hearing before the accountability court in violation of oath which they have taken while assuming the state’s responsibility as prime minister or ministers. It said the Election Act 2017, which allows a disqualified parliamentarian to hold any party office, be annulled being against the basic structure of the constitution.

Published in Daily Times, October 11^th 2017.