Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday headed the bench which heard the Petition of Tahirul Qadri’s pertaining to the reconstitution of the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Dr Qadri as directed submitted a comprehensive reply pertaining to the right to file petition, legal justifications and about the holding of his dual nationality. After reviewing the reply, Justice Sheikh Azmat told Qadri that “you haven’t provided the copy of your Canadian citizenship application form and copy of the oath taken in Canada by you has also not been attached”.
Dr Qadri replied that “my oath of Canadian citizen ship is not a matter of this case”.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry reminded Qadri that “whatever we will ask, it becomes your constitutional responsibility to satisfy us on our queries. You are not a common man, you are Sheikul Islam- you have been giving lectures on religion in 90 countries—you took oath of loyalty to the British Queen”.
CJ further said that you travel abroad as a Canadian citizen and use Pakistani passport only for visiting Pakistan. The CJ added that a “Pakistani is one who identifies himself as Pakistani in any part of the world—he should stand in any region even in the North Pole as Pakistani—you took oath of the loyalty to another country—you have taken oath of allegiance to the British Queen Elizabeth II”.
Tahrik-e-Minhajul Quran Chief Dr Tahirul Qadri is pleading his own case.