Daily Times

While hearing a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) disqualification petition against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) President Asif Ali Zardari, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday remarked that political fights should be fought at the relevant forums or in the parliament.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard a petition filed by PTI leaders Usman Dar and Khurram Sher Zaman seeking Zardari’s disqualification for allegedly concealing assets and illegally owning a bulletproof vehicle.

As the hearing started, Justice Minallah told the petitioners that they will have to ‘satisfy the court first’. “This is a case of public nature and the court should be satisfied regarding why the petition should be heard on a priority basis,” he said.

Dar’s counsel replied, “This is a case for disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) which has been filed on the basis of verified documents.” At this, Justice Minallah said, “You can approach investigative institutions; you know how many cases are pending before the IHC. Why should we set aside numerous pending cases and hear this political case? There are numerous people in jails and we have to see their cases first.”

Dar’s counsel said, “Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is not the relevant forum for disqualification under Article 62(1)(f). We have the Sindh High Court (SHC) order that ECP is not the authorized forum in this case.”

“This is the time when the parliament should be strengthened. The parliament may form a special committee to overlook this matter,” Justice Minallah said. “Political fights should be fought at political forums or in the parliament,” he added.

Published in Daily Times, January 30^th 2019.