ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday again issued notice to former premier Nawaz Sharif over his absence from the hearing of the petitions seeking to determine the period of disqualification of members of the parliament under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution.
A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar is hearing a number of petitions involving the question of whether the disqualification of elected representatives should be for life or a certain period under Article 62(1)(f).
Other members of the bench are Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah.
The apex court had earlier issued notices to Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen to appear in person or through their counsel to submit their response in the case.
Jahangir Tareen appeared before the court Tuesday morning for hearing of the case, which likely to decide his political future. However, Nawaz Sharif, who was appearing in the hearing of graft references against him, failed to attend the court proceedings.
The matter has attained immense significance against the backdrop of the disqualification of the thrice-elected premier and the central PTI leader because its outcome will decide their political fate.
It will also put the controversy surrounding the period for disqualification of a member of parliament to rest once and for all.
Sharif and Tareen were disqualified under the Article 62(1)(f) for lifetime for being dishonest.
On July 28, last year, the apex court disqualified Sharif from office on the grounds he did not disclose a nominal salary from his son’s Dubai-based company – the money Sharif says he never received.
On December 15, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, a three-judge bench disqualified PTI leader Tareen under Article 62 (1)(f) of the Constitution for deliberately submitting a false statement in the Supreme Court to conceal his property in the United Kingdom.
