IHC dismisses Naheed Khan’s petition

ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb has dismissed a writ petition of the late Benazir Bhutto’s former political secretary Naheed Khan seeking to register Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to her name.

IHC bench dismissed the petition while declaring it without  merit. Petitioner Naheed Khan through her counsel Zulfikar Khalid Maluka had contended before the IHC that in 2002 the party changed its name from PPP to Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPPP).

In 2013 she applied for PPP to be registered in her name but ECP turned down her application and accepted the application of Sardar Latif Khosa who had been appearing before the ECP as secretary general of PPP. 

Petitioner Naheed Khan President Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) (as mentioned in the petition) has cited Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), late Jahangir Bader former secretary general PPP, Dr Ghulam Hussain secretary general PPP-Shaheed Bhutto and Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa as respondent.

The petitioner had adopted in the petition that she remained very close to Mohtarman Benazir Bhutto since the beginning of her political career in 1979 and was also political secretary to her martyred leader.

Benazir Bhutto also awarded her with a ticket to contest elections from Rawalpindi and she remained central coordinator of the party as well. In 2002, electoral laws were amended and PPP was not allowed to contest the elections and the leadership of PPP decided to establish another party in the name of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP). 

After changing name PPP contested two elections under its new name PPPP. Later it came to the petitioner’s knowledge that now there is no political party by the name of PPP in the record of ECP. On March 4, 2013 the petitioner applied for the name of PPP and submitted an application to the ECP.

Petitioner told the court that during tenure of PPPP government from 2008 till 2013 when Asif Ali Zardari was the president, a writ petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking court’s directions to bar former President Zardari from holding dual offices those were President of Pakistan and Co-chairperson of PPP. It was contended in the petition that President Zardari as head of the state could not get involved in political activities.

Advocate Wasim Sajjad, appearing on behalf of Zardari had told the LHC that PPP was not a political party and it was rather a private association or just an NGO. This statement hurt feelings of every die-hard PPP ‘jiyalas’ and it was like negating their whole struggle.

In this situation, PPP workers insisted the petitioner and her husband to get PPP registered to her name as a political entity. Consequently, petitioner filed an application to ECP under Political Parties Order 2002.

The IHC division bench has replied to this contention of the petitioner and said that the court went through the record and it was apprised that Wasim Sajjad had told the LHC that PPP is a private political association and not a registered political party. IHC bench further said that the present petitioner did not challenge this before any forum.

The petitioner however said that after she filed application for registration of PPP to her name, Jehangir Bader, Dr Ghulam Hussain and Sardar Latif Khosa also filed applications for changing name of political party and allotment of election symbol. ECP however decided in favour of Sardar Latif Khosa.

The petitioner said that she did not expect of ECP that it would decide the matter taking parochial dynastic perspectives for enlisting of PPP at the application of Khosa. Petitioner told the court that Dr Ghulam Hussain of PPP-Shaheed Bhutto also filed an application in 2012 for registration of PPP to his name and Jehangir Badar as well. But ECP decided in favour of Latif Khosa who filed an application at much later stage.

The petitioner had said that she never remained associated with PPPP while IHC bench observed that this fact could be disputed as the petitioner contested 2002 election on PPPP ticket.

Petitioner contended that Asif Ali Zardari after taking charge as co-chairman had sidelined all die-hard party workers and fake intra party elections were conducted. Petitioner had been contending that the PPP may be registered in her name.  IHC bench however dismissed her application.