PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday denied Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Speaker of the provincial assembly Asad Qaisar the right to plead their case on a petition seeking their disqualification for joining the civil disobedience movement launched by their party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

Now, the court will go ahead with the hearing into the case without listening to the two respondents and their lawyers.

The development comes after the chief minister and the speaker failed to comply with the orders of a bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain to show up in the case.

The bench, however, sought comments of the two in an application attached with the petition seeking the court orders for their suspension until the case is disposed of.

It asked the provincial chief secretary to file comments on the petition within a fortnight before adjoining the hearing into the petition and application for a month.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by senior lawyer Mohammad Ayaz Khan, who had requested the court to restrain the chief minister and assembly speaker from holding their respective offices until the final disposal of the petition.

The court had put on notice the chief minister and speaker during preliminary hearing of the petition on Sept 10.

The respondents in the petition are the chief minister, speaker and provincial government through the chief secretary.

When the bench began hearing on Tuesday, it was informed that notices were served on both the chief minister and the speaker but neither they appeared in person nor did they depute any lawyer to appear on their behalf.

The petitioner contended that as he had made both of them respondents in their personal capacity, therefore, no law officer of the advocate general office could appear on their behalf. He contended that they had to arrange private counsel and as they did not turn up despite receiving court notices, therefore they had lost their right to be heard by the court.

He requested the court to initiate ‘ex-parte proceedings’ in the case.

The petitioner, who is also the secretary general of PHC Bar Association, said the chief minister had assumed office after taking oath under Article 130 (5) read with Third Schedule to the Constitution of Pakistan. He stated that in his oath the chief minister had sworn that he would discharge his duties in accordance with the Constitution of Pakistan and the law and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity and prosperity of Pakistan.

He added that the chief minister had also sworn that he would preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.

Ayaz Khan said the PTI’s chairman had announced starting of civil disobedience movement across the country and the next day the chief minister endorsed that statement thus he had violated his oath of office as well as his obligations under the constitution. He contended that the chief minister had been heading a federating unit and he had to abide by the Constitution.

Similarly, he said the speaker had also taken oath under the Constitution swearing that he would preserve and protect the Constitution. He said by joining the civil disobedience movement he had also violated his oath.

He requested the court to declare that the chief minister and speaker having violated their oath of office and the Constitution, became disqualified to hold their respective offices and were no longer eligible to occupy the same.

Published in Dawn, October 15th , 2014