A mayor can’t run govt affairs from jail: SC

Justice Dost Muhammad says mayor has to take care of important matters

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan on Wednesday permitted to bring an amendment in a plea seeking to hold Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)’s appointed Mayor Waseem Akhtar from dealing with government affairs after he was sworn in on Tuesday.

A two-member bench of the apex court, presided over by Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, heard Shahid Ghouri’s plea which was filed with the Supreme Court’s Karachi Registry a day before Akhtar was sworn in on Tuesday as the mayor of Karachi. Ghouri had filed the plea under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. 

During the hearing, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan voiced concerns of the judicial panel stating how could Waseem Akhtar handle government affairs from inside the jail? He observed that a mayor needs to take care of important matters and thus cannot perform his duties effectively from inside a prison. The court asked the petitioner to review the matter in the light of the law.

The petitioner stated that a criminal could not assume the charge as the mayor of the city as he was involved in different crimes, including violence that erupted in the streets of Karachi on May 12, 2007. He requested the court to permit bringingan  amendment to the petition to stop Waseem Akhtar from dealing with government affairs after he was sworn in on Tuesday. The Supreme Court granted his request.

Waseem Akhtar was arrested last month after a court refused extension in interim bail in a terror case.