Political cases should not be brought to courts: Justice Athar

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday sought reply from former president Asif Ali Zardari in a case related to his disqualification for hiding his assets details in general elections 2018.

Chief Justice Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Athar Minallah headed the hearing of a petition filed by the prime minister’s special assistant Usman Dar. During hearing, Justice Athar Minallah remarked that such matters should have been resolved in the Parliament, which is the best place for these issues.

“This court has 18,000 cases pending. political fights should not be brought to the court and must be resolved in the Parliament,” he said. Justice Athar marked that petitioners can approach the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) or other appropriate forums which are available.

Usman Dar’s lawyer argued that the details of assets ownedby Zardari were not declared in his nomination papers and the property details came after the elections. He told the court that documents he submitted are attested from the relevant department of New York.

The IHC chief justice remarked that first the petitioner should justify his stance and convince the court that there is no other forum available to solve this matter. He further remarked that the petitioner should also explain why disqualification plea should be heard on priority basis.

The court adjourned the hearing for two weeks. Later, talking to media outside the court, Usman Dar claimed that Asif Ali Zardari would be disqualified soon. He said Zardari should tell who is Mehreen Shah. He alleged that the vehicles and benami properties were purchased in the name of Mehreen Shah and Muhammad Idrees in other countries.