‘Musharraf’s plea agianst lifetime disqualification non-maintainable’

Author: Masood Rehman

Former dictator General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s petition against the Peshawar High Court verdict, disqualifying him for lifetime, is liable to be dismissed, being non-maintainable and without merit,

Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) submitted in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. In a six-page statement, AGP Ashtar Ausaf Ali maintained that Musharraf had been unable to make a case for the infringement of his fundamental rights by the PHC’s judgement.

On April 30, 2013, the PHC had dismissed Musharraf’s appeal against rejection of his nomination papers filed for NA-32 Chitral seat and placed a lifetime ban on him. Musharraf then challenged the PHC verdict before the apex court.

The AGP further submitted that allegations against Musharraf were included placement of judges under house arrest, suppression of the media, and demolition of the country’s judicial set-up.

The AGP contended that the high court’s decision was in consonance with the established jurisprudence.

“The fact that a declaration has been passed against a candidate renders his candidature as stigmatised for the remainder of his lifetime as a permanent disqualification. This approach is consistent with the principles enunciated by the Supreme Court in many cases,” he stated.

The AGP submitted that the Supreme Court had settled the law in the recent judgments whereby a declaration against the honesty of a person in terms of Articles 62 and 63 would render them incapable of contesting elections for the duration of their lifetime.

“For the purposes of electoral qualifications, it has now been settled that the disqualification will persist as long as the decree exists and cannot lapse by any period of time,” he stated.

He further stated that Musharraf was also an absconder of law, thus he did not deserve any concession or leniency. He said an absconder has no rights in the eye of law until he surrenders himself before the law. He requested the court to dismiss Musharraf’s plea without examining its merit.

Published in Daily Times, June 13^th2018.