News Analysis |
The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday started the hearing of the case pertaining to Article 62(1)(f) of the constitution. The disqualification period under Article 62(1)(f) will be decided in the case. Former premier Nawaz Sharif and former general secretary of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Jahangir Tareen were served notices on Monday to appear in the hearing of the case.
A five-judge SC bench consisting of Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah has taken up 17 cases pertaining to disqualification under the Article 62. While there were more than a dozen cases of lawmakers disqualified for fake degrees, the most substantial ones are that of Sharif and Tareen.
While no efforts have been inside the parliament to amend the articles, the legal battle inside the courts might prove to be decisive in ending the controversy once and for all.
Nawaz Sharif failed to show up for the hearing because he had to go to his accountability court hearing on the same but Tareen was present with his counsel Babar Awan. The court issued another notice to Sharif and announced that if the concerned parties failed to show up, the court will issue a ‘one-sided ruling’ which is the ruling based on merit. The court requested all parties to appear because it wants to protect the rights of people and ensure that no one has any grievances left with the court.
The hearing started with the discussion on the terms ‘sadiq and ameen’. The court inquired if the terms should be considered as one trait or two separate ones. Justice Atar also questioned whether the clause should apply on minorities or not, to which Babar replied that they should because every parliamentarian should possess a good character.
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 The court asked Awan if a lawmaker should be disqualified over holding an anti-Pakistan ideology. Awan insisted that they should. Debating about the period of disqualification, Awan argued that a judge disqualified for misconduct is not reinstated; the CJP wondered that whether individuals are allowed to interpret the Constitution according to their own understanding. The case was adjourned till Wednesday.
The Articles 62 and 63 which decide the qualification and disqualification criteria of parliamentarians has been a bone of contention among political and legal circles for many years. Legal experts believe the language.
Political experts believe that the outcome of this case will have a great impact on the political spectrum of the country since two giants in the political arena: Nawaz Sharif and Jahangir Tareen were disqualified under this article. Some media experts are crediting Nawaz Sharif’s vicious campaign against the judiciary a reason for this change of heart by the Supreme Court.
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The Articles 62 and 63 which decide the qualification and disqualification criteria of parliamentarians has been a bone of contention among political and legal circles for many years. Legal experts believe the language of the Articles to be very ambiguous and their meaning dependent on the interpretation. While no efforts have been inside the parliament to amend the articles, the legal battle inside the courts might prove to be decisive in ending the controversy once and for all.