ISLAMABAD: Yet another petition was filed with the Supreme Court on Tuesday — this time by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) — assailing the passage of the Election Act, 2017, which allowed a disqualified lawmaker to hold any party office.

Already seven similar petitions have been filed with the court on the issue. The first petition was filed by Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and later by others seeking declaration that the re-election of Nawaz Sharif as PML-N’s president is unconstitutional, unlawful and of no legal effect.

But PPP’s petition filed by Sardar Latif Khan Khosa was different in a sense that through it the party has sought a declaration from the Supreme Court that the PML-N government may be restrained from governance till removal of Nawaz Sharif as its president and replacement by an eligible person.

The petition also requested the Supreme Court to prohibit Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and his cabinet members from accompanying the entourage of Nawaz Sharif while going to attend his hearing in the accountability court and declare it to be in violation of the oath which they have taken while assuming the state’s responsibility as prime minister or ministers.

Asks SC to restrain PML-N from governing till removal of Nawaz Sharif as party head

The petition also requests the top court to declare illegal the election of Nawaz Sharif as the president of PML-N by holding that provisions of Section 203 of the Elections Act, 2017, were subject to Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution and that Sharif’s election was contrary to the spirit of fundamental rights sanctified by Article 9, 14 and 17(f) of the Constitution.

Likewise, the petition said, the Election Commission of Pakistan should also be told to remove the name of Nawaz Sharif as head of the PML-N from the enlisted political parties’ notified list.

The petition argued that if body politics was allowed to be subverted by Nawaz Sharif the way he was on the rampage creating hate and attacking vital institutions and hurling insinuations on the judicial organ of the state, of power trichotomy would be annihilated.

It said that the descent from Prime Minister House Islamabad to Jati Umra Lahore and unending onslaught by Mr Sharif was creating confusion, chaos and strife among the people.

The divisiveness generated and unleashed was irreparably and irretrievably withering the nation’s unity and making institutions controversial, negating the rule of law and constitutionalism, the petition argued.

It asked if Sharif, as a head of PML-N, could be allowed to control and regulate the destiny of the nation with government in the centre, Punjab and Balochistan, and if he could be allowed to lead the motherland into abysmal poverty?

The subordinate legislation, the petition said, like an act of the parliament was bound to be in accordance with injunctions of Islam whereas Section 203 of the act was not sustainable and thus deserved to be struck down being repugnant to Islamic principles of piety and honesty of holders of offices of political parties.

“Essentially Islam encourages honest leadership and discourages a person who is dishonest and neither Sadiq nor Ameen. But the act has negated these Islamic principles and for the sake of one person a law has been promulgated, which deserves to be declared unconstitutional,” the petition emphasised.

The petition said that the scheme of the Constitution envisaged a democratic system for Pakistan and the court, being the custodian of fundamental rights of general public, can declare it by applying the principle of reading down enforcing Articles 62 and 63 as essentially regulating Article 17 of the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2017