SC serves notice on Imran in Zulfi case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday issued notices to Prime Minister Imran Khan and Secretary Cabinet Division in a petition seeking disqualification of Zulfiqar Bukhari as Special Assistant to Premier on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development with the status of Minister of State because he has dual citizenship. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar resumed hearing in a joint petition filed by Muhammad Adil Chatta and Mirza Abdul Moiz Beg, challenging the appointment of Zulfiqar Bukhari.

The court after accepting the petition for regular hearing, issued notices to Prime Minister Imran Khan and Secretary Cabinet Division for November 16. During the course of hearing, the CJ asked counsel for Zulfi Bukhari as to whether an ordinary citizen possessing dual nationality can become a minister. The Chief Justice observed that when a person having dual citizenship cannot become a parliamentarian, then how can he become a minister.

The CJ then asked the counsel for the petitioner Adil Chatta that if he has moved the apex court under Article 62 (1) (c) of the constitution, to which the counsel replied that it is a cardinal principle of law and justice that ‘what cannot be done directly, cannot be done indirectly’.

Justice Ijazul Ahsen, another member of the bench, observe that no court has given a verdict against Bukhari as yet, while Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar said that the constitution does not carry any provision or qualification for the appointment of special assistant. Later, the court issued notices to Premier Imran Khan and Secretary Cabinet Division and adjourned the hearing until Friday, November 16.

Petitioner Adil Chatta and Mirza Abdul Moiz Beg in their joint petition had recalled that the Supreme Court in Dr Muhammad Tahirul Qadri verses Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2013 SC 413) case held that the petitioner has acquired the citizenship of Canada and has taken an oath inter alia to pledge his loyalty and allegiance to Canada which disqualifies him from contesting elections to Parliament in view of the bar contained in Article 63(1) (c) of the constitution which has been elaborately discussed in the case of Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi verses federation of Pakistan (PLD 2012 SC 1089)

“In view of this it is evident that individuals who possess dual citizenship, are disqualified from becoming members of the Parliament, thereby rendering them disqualified to serve as Federal or minister of State”, they had contended.

They had further submitted that it is a matter of record that Zulfiqar Bukhari is a British citizen, holding passport number 518157071 and this has been acknowledged by Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interviews on Geo news Capital Talk on June 26, 2018.

The petitioners had further contended in their joint petition that a person who is otherwise disqualified to become a Member of Parliament and therefore ineligible to become a Ministers and cannot be given the status of Minister of State by appointing him as Special Assistant to Prime Minister.

The petitioners had prayed the apex court to declare void the notification issued on September 14, 2018 regarding appointment of Bukhari as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development with the status of Minister of State.