Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan will take up the appeals of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamat-e-Islami (JI) against orders of Registrar on Tuesday, sources confirmed Daily Times. Sources further said that Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali will take up both appeals for hearing in his chamber.

“Now the chamber will decide whether the contentions of both appeals are admissible or not for setting aside the orders of Registrar and fixture of petitions, seeking disqualification of Prime Minister, and for hearing in open court under the ambit of public importance,” sources further said.

Advocate Muhammad Asad Manzoor Butt will plead for JI’s Emir Sirajul Haq while a legal team headed by Hamid Khan and comprising Naeem Bokhari, Ahmad Awais, Yousaf Anjum and Muhammad Imad Khan will plead the case of PTI’s chairman Imran Khan.

Both parties had challenged the registrar’s order under Order V, Rule 3 of Supreme Court Rules 1980, which states that an appeal shall lie from the Registrar in all cases to the jin chambers. The SC Registrar had declared the constitutional petitions, separately filed by PTI and JI, as frivolous and non-maintainable on the grounds that the petitions do not fall under the ambit of public importance and the parties had not approached the appropriate forum.

But PTI on Sep 5 challenged the objections arguing that no specific instance was pointed out regarding the so called frivolous content in the order of the Registrar, adding that declaring the petition as ‘frivolous’ was insulting, degrading and defamatory, clearly reflecting lack of experience.

Likewise, JI on September 3 challenged the order arguing that the objections taken by the Registrar office that ‘the petition prima facie appears to be a frivolous petition’ was of no legal consequence because nothing had been stated as to why the petition filed by the appellant (JI) is frivolous. Both constitutional petitions sought disqualification of Prime Minister over corruption and alleged tax evasion through offshore companies. However, PTI through its petition had also sought the top court’s directions for disqualification of the premier’s son-in-law Captain (r) Muhammad Safdar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar from the seats of national assembly over the same matter.

Moreover Chief of Awami Muslim League (AML) Sheikh Rasheed on Friday moved a petition requesting the top court for its direction to disqualify Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the grounds of dishonesty. The instant petition filed in-person under Article 184 (3) made Federation through Secretary Law Justice and Parliamentary Division and Secretary Establishment Division, National Accountability Bureau through its Chairman, Federal Board of Revenue through its Chairman respondents.

The petition stated that high office of the Prime Minister being held by Nawaz Sharif carries extreme responsibilities affecting the whole country, and therefore cannot be held by a person who is prima facie hit by Article 62 of the Constitution being non-sagacious and untruthful. Sheikh Rashid said despite the daughter of the premier Maryam being a dependent, her ownership of shares in the off-shore companies were never declared by Nawaz Sharif in the 2013 election forms.

The petition further stated that by a simple score of notices, the wealth statement of 2011 submitted by Nawaz Sharif to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) evidences Maryam Safdar in the column of dependents holding land to the tune of Rs 24.8 million. “Even otherwise, the properties in London (four apartments) purportedly owned by offshore companies in which Hussain Nawaz has major shareholdings were bought in the 1990s (1993-1996) when Hussain Nawaz, being a dependent of Nawaz Sharif, had no independent source of income,” the petitioner further said.

The petitioner prayed before the court to issue directives to prevent Nawaz Sharif from holding public office as a member of the National Assembly in the interest of equity and justice till final adjudication of the instant petition.