The Supreme Court (SC) has rejected the appeal asking for disqualification of PML-N Member of National Assembly (MNA) Bilal Ahmed Virk from NA-136, upholding the verdict of the Election Tribunal.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, remarked during the hearing that no one can be declared disqualified for life for not fulfilling Articles 62 and 63 of the constitution. He said one can qualify for the electoral process when he or she starts implementing the Islamic rules and procedures.
Salman Akram Raja Advocate appeared before the court on behalf of PPP candidate Shahid Manzoor Gul while Kamran Murtaza represented Kamran Virk. Salman Ahmed Advocate stated before the court that Kamran Ahmed Virk’s degree is doubtful, adding that he presented a bogus degree in 2002 elections.
The counsel said that Virk obtained the degree from Jamia Ashrafia Ferozpur Road in 1996 but according to record, he got admission into the seminary in 1995. He questioned how the candidate obtained an 8-year degree in one year, adding that there is also a difference in the verification received from the institution.
In the first verification issued by seminary In-charge Hafiz Asad Ubaidullah, it was claimed that Bilal Ahmed Virk son of Chaudhary Habibullah Virk was not a student of the seminary. In the second verification letter, the seminary mentioned Bilal Ahemd Virk with his ID card number. The counsel told the court that the former MNA contested elections on a bogus degree; therefore, he is not Sadiq and Ameen as required by Articles 62 and 63 of the constitution and should be disqualified.
The chief justice asked the applicant to find the real degree holder if they had doubts about the degree and present him before the court.
Meanwhile, Afzal Khan Advocate also appeared before the court on behalf of Abid Chatha and supported the arguments of Salman Akram Raja. He said Bilal Ahmed Virk doesn’t have the right to represent the people, quoting arguments of the Indian court. The apex court, however, rejected the argument saying India has a separate law and the court cannot make decisions according to their law.
Bilal Ahmed Virk was elected with 73,775 votes while his opponent Shahid Manzoor Gul of PPP received 36,238 votes. The Election Tribunal had rejected the application of the opposing candidates for disqualification of Bilal Ahemd Virk.