–Former FM says IHC misinterpreted UAE official letter regarding employment agreement
–Usman Dar’s counsel says Asif did not disclose details of his salary to avoid income tax
ISLAMABAD: Former foreign minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday submitted a written reply in the Supreme Court (SC) over his disqualification issue, stating that there is no constitutional bar on employment of members of the National Assembly (NA).
On April 27, the Islamabad High Court disqualified Khawaja Asif from the parliament under Article 62 (1) (f).
“NA members can be employed otherwise despite their duties to the House,” Asif’s reply stated. He also argued that there are no allegations of corruption against him.
The written response alleges that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) misread and misinterpreted the letter sent by United Arab Emirates authorities. Article 7 of the UAE law allows parties to agree on terms which are beneficial to the employee, so the agreement isn’t a violation of law, the petition states.
The petition also alleges that petitioner Usman Dar also knew of Asif’s employment and foreign salary which were made public earlier, but never raised a question on the matter.
Asif stated that a major part of his income comes from private business. “Listing business as an occupation is not wrong,” he said.
The reply further stated that no transaction has been made from his bank account in Dubai. Non-declaration of a closed account is not unlawful, he stated, adding that he had not mentioned his Dubai bank account details in his nomination form unintentionally.
The counsel for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Dar also submitted a written reply in the case.
Complying with a previous judgement of the top court, Dar’s counsel submitted a 20-page document to the apex court on Saturday, requesting that the IHC decision to disqualify Khawaja Asif be upheld.
According to the counsel, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader did not disclose details of his salary in order to avoid income tax on it, which was unlawful, and therefore the IHC verdict in the case was correct and in line with existing laws regarding public office holders.
A three-member bench, headed by Justice Athar Minallah, had disqualified Asif, stating: “We declare that the Respondent was not qualified to contest the General Election of 2013 from NA 110 as he did not fulfill the conditions described under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, read with section 99(1)(f) of the Act of 1976. The petition is, therefore, allowed. The Registrar of this Court is directed to send a certified copy of this judgment to the Election Commission for de-notifying the Respondent as Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. A copy is also directed to be sent to the Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan for information.”
Afterwards, Asif challenged the disqualification in SC, saying that he unintentionally concealed the details of his bank accounts but provided them before the filing of the current writ. He further requested the court to annul the notification of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
PTI’s Dar had lost elections to Asif in May 2013. The PTI leader moved court against Asif relying on the apex court’s landmark July 28 judgement pertaining to receivable salary under which the SC had ousted ex-premier Nawaz Sharif.
