Disqualification case: IHC takes PTI MNAs to task

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) expressed displeasure over three women lawmakers of the PTI over their failure to submit comments on a petition seeking their disqualification as members of the National Assembly.

An IHC bench was hearing the petition moved by PML-N leaders Tahira Bukhari and Shaista Pervez seeking disqualification of PTI’s Kanwal Shauzab, Malaika Bukhari and Tashfeen Safdar under Article 26 and 63 of the country’s Constitution.

A deputy attorney general informed the bench that the respondents have not furnished their replies yet.

The bench observed that it had given the MNAs seven days’ time to file response but they flouted its orders.

“The court’s orders have not been implemented yet,” it added and adjourned the hearing until July 16 with directives for the PTI lawmakers to submit their response without fail.

Earlier, the petitioners through their lawyer had requested the court to suspend the membership of the three MNAs until the petitions are decided by it.

They stated that Bukhari should be declared ineligible to be member of Parliament for possessing dual nationality, whereas Tashfeen Safdar be also disqualified for concealing information about her dual nationality in her nomination papers.

Last year in Oct, the Supreme Court had disqualified two PML-N leaders – former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s sister Sadia Abbasi and Haroon Akhtar Khan – as members of the Senate over dual nationality.

A seven-member bench of the apex court, headed by then chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar, directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold election to these two Senate seats afresh.

It held that both the PML-N leaders possessed foreign nationality at the time of submission of their nomination papers for the Senate election earlier this year. They are disqualified as members of the Senate,it ruled.