Follow the constitution, not SC orders, AG tells ECP

In a surprise move against the Election Commission’s decision to de-notify 11 lawmakers in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s order in the dual nationality case, Attorney General Irfan Qadir has written a letter to the chief election commissioner (CEC), stressing that the commission must follow the constitution.
Qadir was recently detached by the apex court from Malik Riaz’s contempt of court case over his affiliation with the property magnate.
In his letter to CEC Fakharuddin G Ebrahim, Qadir told him to proceed in the matter in accordance with relevant provision of the 1973 Constitution while asserting that the Supreme Court had no authority to issue directives to the ECP.
In its ruling on September 20, the apex court ordered the ECP to disqualify 11 lawmakers who had submitted false declarations while submitting their nomination papers, concealing their foreign nationalities.
A senior ECP official told Pakistan Today that the commission had received the AG’s letter, asking the CEC to de-notify the dual nationality holders under the guidance of the constitution, and not by the order of the apex court, which, according to Qadir, had no authority to issue directives to the ECP.
The official said that the ECP had discussed Qadir’s letter during a meeting on Tuesday, and decided to file criminal cases against the de-notified lawmakers, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik for submitting false declarations. In his letter, Qadir wrote: “In my view, the Election Commission of Pakistan has the exclusive obligation to determine the questions of disqualification as per the relevant constitutional provisions and as such the ECP is not to perform its functions on the directions of any court in Pakistan including the Supreme Court.”
The AG also drew the CEC’s attention to the decision, asking him to take steps in accordance with Article 5 of the constitution, which is about protecting and preserving the constitution.
In response to the AG’s letter, the CEC notified Qadir that the ECP had de-notified the dual nationality holders in accordance with the relevant law.
On Monday, in the light of the directives of the Supreme Court, the ECP directed to the Sessions judges concerned to initiate criminal proceedings against 11 de-notified lawmakers, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, for filing false declarations at the time of submitting nomination papers.
Under Section 63(1) of the constitution, a dual nationality holder cannot become a member of the National Assembly, provincial assembly or the Senate. The ECP has now decided to take fresh oath from all parliamentarians to ascertain their nationalities, and it is expected that more cases of dual nationality holders would surfaced following this move.