SC moved against lifelong disqualification of Nawaz and Tareen

ISLAMABAD, January 27: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon on Thursday filed a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the lifelong disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) estranged leader Jahangir Khan Tareen from holding any public office.
It is contended in the petition that the sentence of disqualifying a people’s representative for life should only be given in cases involving electoral disputes.
The petition further says that under Article 184/3 of the constitution, the Supreme Court could not act as a trial court because section 3 of the Article denied the right to appeal the court’s decision.
“And that not giving to the aggrieved party the right to appeal in such cases is against the principles of justice. It constitutes the violation of basic human rights of not only the public representative but also of the people who have returned him or her to the legislature,” reads the petition. Furthermore, it says that the apex court in its verdicts in the cases of Nawaz Sharif and Jahangir Tareen had determined the parameters of Article 62 1-F of the constitution. “Truth of the matter is that only that election should be declared null and void which has been challenged under the said Article. It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court of Pakistan had disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and estranged PTI leader Jahangir Tareen under Article 62(1)(f). The article stipulates that a person cannot be qualified as a member of the national or provincial legislatures if he is not ‘Sadiq’ and ‘Ameen’. -NNI