ISLAMABAD: Even lethally opposed politicians like ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jehangir Tareen and several other disqualified lawmakers will be in reality obliquely or explicitly complementing each other’s arguments to get their common ineligibility eliminate d in the Supreme Court.
Since the harm caused to them by the judicial verdicts is the same, their assertions will be identical as everyone aspires for relief. It will be like you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. Everyone wants the bar to go instantly so that they are able to take part in the electoral politics without loss of any time.
It will be an interesting spectacle to watch in courtroom number one where the five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar will hold the proceedings. Initially, the deposed prime minister preferred not to become party to these proceedings after holding a session with his team of lawyers and top Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders at Raiwind, a day before the apex court opened hearings on the critical point.
The bench also includes Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, who were included in the panel that had ousted Nawaz Sharif in the Panama case. Similarly, the chief justice and Justice Umar Ata Bandial figured in the bench that had disqualified Tareen and given a clean chit to Imran Khan.
The new bench issued another notice to the deposed prime minister to be part of the hearings. Rather, through a press release, the court asked all those affected or interested in the current proceedings to seek its permission to associate themselves with the hearings.
The cases of all the disqualified have been clubbed together for adjudication in one go. The court’s release did not mention the former prime minister by name but obviously he was prodded to pay attention to the new notice. “It is notified for information of the general public that cases involving interpretation/determination of the question of temporary or permanent bar to contest elections after incurring of disqualification under any provision of the Constitution or the election laws have been fixed for hearing before five-member bench- if any person including any voter or member or leader of any political party who may consider it likely to be affected by the decision-in one way or another may approach the Supreme Court if so advised in his own interest or in the public interest to seek permission to be heard in the matter. This publication may be treated as court notice to all concerned for all intents and purposes, and if no one appears, the matter will be decided ex-parte,” the release said.
The Chief Justice remarked during the preliminary proceedings that if Nawaz Sharif did not become part of the ongoing hearings, the bench will take ex-parte decision which, however, will be based on merit. He also stated that names of the ex-premier and Tareen came to his mind as he thought of fixing the hearing of these petitions, and so the notices were issued to both of them.
Whenever disqualification of MPs under Article 62(1) (f), any other constitutional clause or law is discussed, the unprecedented ineligibility of the sitting prime minister naturally occurs to everyone’s mind. A predominant majority of people hardly know the lawmakers, who have sponsored the present fourteen pleas that the top court is seized with now. The Supreme Court’s interpretation of Article 62(1(f), which is silent on the period of ineligibility, will not only apply to the present appellants but the future affected persons, who would face disqualification for any reason.
It goes without saying that all the litigants fervently cherish their disqualification to be reduced to one-time to enable them to contest upcoming general elections just like Justice (R) Iftikhar Cheema of the PML-N, who was unseated for not declaring a certain asset of his wife in his nomination papers. After his ouster, he had fought for the same National Assembly seat in its by-election and won.
Nawaz Sharif did not answer a question about this previous decision of not joining the proceedings during a brief presser outside an accountability court of Islamabad where he, along with his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt. (R) Safdar appeared. However, he has now changed his mind and his lawyer, Azam Tarar, will initially represent him in the apex court on Wednesday. Later, he will engage more attorneys.
However, Tareen instantly engaged a lawyer and leader made it a point to be personally present in the courtroom, which showed his keenness to get the disqualification undone.
In his opening arguments, Tareen’s lawyer Babar Awan raised a very important point that all the 17 judges of the Supreme Court should hear this matter – interpretation of Article 62(1) (f) - because there are previous judgments of benches larger than the current one on the similar matter.
However, it seems that the instant panel will hand down an authoritative ruling to close this chapter once and for all, possibly before the forthcoming parliamentary polls.