Tehreek Minhajul Quran (TMQ) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on Monday was given a hard time by a three-member Supreme Court bench that questioned the maintainability of his petition, with the otherwise charged cleric left helpless and exhausted despite raising valid points over the composition of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Qadri faced further grinding at the hands of the media outside the court premises and the veteran cleric might now be regretting his decision to plead his petition on his own instead of hiring a lawyer.
It was Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry who spearheaded the onslaught against Qadri, hurling a volley of questions at him to elaborate the locus standi of his petition, as he possessed dual nationality. The court time and again questioned the rationale of his right to file the petition over the status of his Canadian citizenship.
The three-judge bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Azmat Saeed directed Qadri to submit by Tuesday the required documents regarding his claims of being a stakeholder in the democratic system of the country and the notification over his dual nationality.
The bench was hearing a constitutional petition moved by the TMQ chief under Article 184(3) of the constitution related to fundamental rights of citizens. In his plea, Dr Qadri wanted a declaration from the court against the composition of the ECP.
At the onset of proceedings, the chief justice stopped the cleric from praising the judiciary and drew his attention towards his contentions. To the bench’s query, Qadri replied that he had applied for the citizenship of Canada in 1997 and got nationality in the year 2005. “Can the government of Pakistan, with all respect to you, allow such a person to retain its citizenship?” the CJ posed a question. “One thing is clear: you cannot be a member of parliament, because, according to the constitution, a dual nationality holder cannot become a lawmaker,” Justice Chaudhry said.
The bench inquired if he had acquired foreign nationality due to any threats, to which Qadri replied that he had not attained Canadian nationality on the basis of any dangers to his life. “After acquiring citizenship, one has to take an oath of allegiance,” remarked the chief justice. “How can somebody who takes an oath of allegiance to another country be loyal to Pakistan?” “If I seek allegiance of a foreign country, then how can I say that the parliament which represents the will of 18 million to 20 million people, is suffering from flaws,” the CJ observed.
“Yes, I’m a citizen of Canada,” Qadri said, adding that he acquired the Canadian nationality as a religious scholar in an ordinary manner. The chief justice questioned him whether a person who had acquired nationality of a foreign country could retain the Pakistani nationality and drew his attention towards Section 14(3) of the General Immigration Laws.
He reminded Dr Qadri that when he got citizenship of a foreign country, he expressed his allegiance to that country.
“Such a person cannot enter parliament under Articles 62 and 63 of the constitution as he had showed allegiance to another country,” he added.
Qadri maintained that under the relevant laws he was not allowed to contest elections and enter the parliament, but under the relevant laws, he could retain his Pakistani nationality. He further contended that he had taken up an issue which pertained to general interest and could be heard. He said that general laws for immigration also provided such exemptions. The CJ reminded him that under the Canadian law, he had taken oath of allegiance to the Queen and assumed duties as citizen of Canada.
Qadri said he had appeared before the bench as a voter, as the law differentiated between the voter and parliamentarian.
The chief justice told him that he should submit the required documents by Tuesday as it would be significant and assured him that they would give him a full hearing opportunity. The CJ observed that the petitioner would also argue his locus standi in the case as it would have implications.
To a query, Attorney General for Pakistan Irfan Qadir said a dual nationality holder could approach the Supreme Court under the provisions of fundamental rights and there was no such bar.
He said he would oppose contentions of the petitioner but he should be given an opportunity to put up the case. The proceedings were adjourned until today (Tuesday).
Qadri snubbed by judges
