ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may have recovered from his heart ailment, but his political problems are far from over.

Former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who is also chief of the newly-formed Pakistan Justice and Democratic Party, has questioned the prime minister’s credentials to rule the country, in a petition sent to the National Assembly speaker under Article 63(2) of the Constitution.

The petition, whose contents were shared with mediapersons by Justice Chaudhry himself during a press conference on Saturday, seeks the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif from his seat as the MNA for NA-120 (Lahore).

The petition claims that the prime minister is not an ameen (righteous) person, and asks whether he is sadiq (honest) and whether he can be trusted to remain a member of the National Assembly and run the affairs of the state in accordance with the Constitution and the law.

Petition sent to speaker contends Nawaz Sharif no longer sadiq or ameen

The voluminous petition, containing several annexures, has been submitted by former MNA and JDP Peshawar Coordinator Sardar Umer Farooq Khan. In it, he accuses PM Sharif of disregarding and violating Article 5 of the Constitution, which demands complete loyalty to the state.

The petition, which has been sent to the National Assembly speaker by post, asks him to refer the matter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for an expeditious decision as per the Constitution.

A delegation from the party is also expected to visit the speaker on Monday to hand over the documents, said Sheikh Ehsanuddin, another JDP member.

When asked whether any citizen who is not a member of parliament could move such a petition, Advocate Azhar Siddique — who has challenged several Punjab government projects before the Supreme Court — said that anyone could petition the speaker under Article 63(2) of the Constitution. He added that if the speaker rejected the petition, it could be challenged before the Supreme Court.

The petition relies heavily on a number of Supreme Court judgements, including the Zafar Ali Shah case, accusing the prime minister of — among other things — concealment of property outside Pakistan, evasion of taxes, money-laundering, abuse of statutory regulatory orders (SROs), misuse of position, misstatement about assets held in nomination papers submitted for elections, non-disclosure of pending criminal references, favouritism and nepotism, widespread rigging in the general elections of 1990, fabrication, breach of confidentiality agreement, violation of Constitution, and evasion of income tax.

He is also accused of violations of Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, the Representation of People Act 1976, Income Tax Act, Wealth Tax Act and foreign exchange regulations.

The petition also refers to the Panama Papers leaks, which also named other members of the prime minister’s family.

The petition has also cites excerpts from the book Capitalism’s Achilles Heel: Dirty Money and How to Renew the Free-Market System by Raymond W. Baker.

In it, the Sharifs are accused of links with three offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands; Nescoll, Nielson and Shamrock, and another in the Channel Islands known as Chandron Jersey Pvt Ltd.

Some of these entities were allegedly used to facilitate the purchase of four flats in London’s upscale Park Lane area. Payment transfers were made to Banque Paribas en Suisse, which then instructed the offshore companies Nescoll and Nielson to purchase four luxury suites. None of the allegations were ever rebutted, the petition said.

The book also mentions the probe into the Sharif family’s financial affairs, conducted by former interior minister Rehman Malik, which was released in 1998.

Referring to the Zafar Ali Shah case, the petition said the Supreme Court had taken notice of documents and records that established the alleged corruption and corrupt practices of the prime minister.

The judgement also mentioned the loans taken from different banks against their industrial units, which brings their collective liabilities to around Rs6 billion. This reference was based on records admitted by different courts and supported by documents, the petition said.

The prime minister has never declared these amounts in his income tax returns, the nomination papers he filed from time to time with the ECP, or his statement of assets and liabilities filed annually with both ECP and FBR.

Citing 11 different textile mills, engineering and paper mills, the petition alleged that the prime minister admittedly had financial interests in these businesses, but failed to mention them in the nomination papers filed ahead of the 2013 general elections, even though they were mentioned in papers submitted for the 2008, 1990 and 1997 elections.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2016