SC dismisses plea challenging Zulfi’s appointment

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday dismissed the plea seeking declaring void the notification issued on September 14, 2018 regarding appointment of Zulfi Bukhari as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development with the status of Minister of State.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar issued as a short order in the petition filed by Muhammad Adil Chatta and Mirza Abdul Moiz Beg, challenging the appointment of Zulfi Bukhari as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development with the status of Minister of State.

“For the reasons to be recorded later with certain observations to be made, we do not find any merit in this petition as regards the quo-warranto declaration prayed for therein, the petition is dismissed”, the court announced in its one page short order.

On September 26, the petitioners had requested the Supreme Court to restrain Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari from working as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development with the status of Minister of State.

They recalled that the Supreme Court in Dr Muhammad Tahirul Qadri verses Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2013 SC 413) 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) © 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”, the petitioners contended.

They further submitted that it is a matter of record that Zulfi Bukhari is a British citizen, holding passport number 518157071 and this has been acknowledged by Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interview on Geo news Capital Talk on June 26, 2018. The petitioners further submitted that it is a cardinal principle of law and justice that ‘what cannot be done directly, cannot be done indirectly. They further contended 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 with the status of Minister of State.