LAHORE – A full bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday adjourned proceedings to several petitions challenging dual office held by President Asif Ali Zardari. The four-member bench headed by Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry deferred hearing till February 14 for hearing detailed arguments by petitioner counsel, AK Dogar on questions threatening Zardari’s eligibility.
During proceedings on Wednesday Dogar was arguing that Asif Ali Zardari faced pre-election disqualification due to his bad reputation. He submitted that Zardari is known as Mr 10 percent for taking kickbacks on contract deals during his spouse Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto tenure. The petitioner had demanded the court to disqualify Zardari’s dual offices on the basis of Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution since he has a bad reputation Justice Ijaz Chaudhry and Justice Ijazul Hassan demanded petitioner counsel to present any precedent or court judgment on removal of any holder of public office on basis on reputation only.
Upon this AK Dogar requested the court to give him some time for answering these questions with solid arguments and references from the constitution of Pakistan which also has set some standards for holder of a public office. The court gave him time and adjourned hearing. The petitions were filed by Pakistan Lawyers Forum (PLF), Engineer Ghulam Jillani and Advocate Asif Mehmood Khan.
