ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday dismissed PML-N’s disqualification plea against Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed.
AML chief while talking to the media after the announcement of verdict said that he was grateful to God for bestowing his blessings upon him. He added, criticizing Nawaz Sharif, that even if the verdict was against him, he would have accepted it because he was nothing like the PML-N supremo.
Rasheed said that he had done nothing wrong and yet his respect was at stake for 84 days as the SC had reserved the verdict.
However, PML-N leader Shakeel Awan said that he had faith in the judiciary and will keep on trying to get justice from the courts.
Earlier today, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed heading a three-member bench along with Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah had to announce the verdict over a disqualification plea filed against AML chief.
While talking to media outside the apex court before the proceedings, AML chief asserted that he would respect SC’s verdict, stating that he is hopeful that the judgment will be in his favor, however, he will accept the court’s verdict whatever it may be.
Upon being questioned about him being the sacrificial goat before Eid, Sheikh on a lighter note responded that even God knows that this month is not of sacrifices.
Earlier, the SC had reserved its verdict on March 20, 2018.
Previously, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shakeel Awan had filed a petition demanding Sheikh’s disqualification for misappropriation of assets in 2013 general election’s nomination papers. Awan who had lost the election to Rasheed, maintain the view in his petition that the AML chief had concealed his assets and had later owned the error.
Awan’s counsel had argued that as per the Representation of People’s Act it was must to declare all assets prior to contesting elections, however, Awan claimed that AML chief had concealed his assets and later on stated it as a calculation error.
The petitioner’s counsel said that the ruling as recent as the one given in the wake of the Panama Papers verdict, Rasheed should be disqualified for misappropriation of assets.
On the other hand, defense counsel had asserted that his client had owned the mistake to be merely an error in valuing the assets rather than intentional mis-declaration.
Justice Qazi had remarked that the lawmaker shall be disqualified in accordance to the SC’s pre-existential ruling no matter what the error was, however, Justice Saeed had observed that it should be proved whether the lawmaker stood disqualified because he committed an error while filling out the nomination papers or his/her assets.