Mulaika Bukhari eligibility case: IHC seeks reply from respondents

ISLAMABAD: On an intra-court appeal against the eligibility of National Assembly Member Mulaika Bukhari, a division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday sought comments from respondents.

The court sought further arguments from the petitioner in pleas against the eligibility of two other lawmakers Tashfeen Safdar and Kanwal Shauzab. The division bench comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Lubna Saleem Pervaiz conducted the hearing on the ICA against the single bench's decision, filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers Tahira Aurangzeb and Shaista Pervaiz on the eligibility matters of three women MNAs.

The petitioners' lawyer Mian Rauf contended that the single bench had dismissed the case in March 2020 seeking to disqualify the three MNAs. Justice Aurangzeb remarked that the single bench should have dismissed this case with fine to the petitioners. Why the political matters are being dragged in court, the bench asked.

The petitioners' lawyer said Kanwal Shauzab had no domicile of Punjab at the time of the submission of her nomination papers to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The bench observed that it seems that a political dispute has been brought before the court. The lawyer said the petitioner, Tahira Bukhari, is also a member of the Nation Assembly. He presented references pertaining to the disqualification cases of ex-senator Saeed Abbasi and Javed Hashmi. Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb asked the petitioner's lawyer what Kanwal Shauzab had told at the time of the submission of her nomination papers. She was supposed to tell the truth that's why she submitted an affidavit to the ECP, the bench remarked. The court questioned whether Mulaika Bukhari is a British national. The lawyer said the lawmaker is a dual national.