The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday adjourned for May 11 the hearing of a writ petition seeking disqualification of Rehman Malik as senator on the basis of his removal from service. Neither the federal government submitted its reply, nor did the deputy attorney general concerned appear in the court. However, the counsel for the federation produced a copy of the 17th Amendment to establish the fact that Malik was an eligible candidate at the time of filing of the nomination papers for the Senate seat.
He said before introduction of the 17th Amendment a person who was removed from service was ineligible for 10 years to hold public office but the time was later curtailed to five years by the said amendment. A division bench comprising Justice Azmat Saeed and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah was hearing the case. Malik had already submitted his reply saying there were no legal justifications to hear the case as the president of Pakistan had already converted his removal from service into retirement.
He prayed the court to dismiss the petition.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had told the court through a written reply that no one raised any objection at the time of filing of Malik’s nomination papers for the Senate seat. The court was told further that ECP acted in accordance with the law. A citizen, Mahfooz Ahmad, had moved the petition in which he submitted that Rehman Malik was removed from service in Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in 1998 and he was not eligible to be elected as a senator.
The petitioner had also challenged the notification which converted removal of Malik into retirement, pleading that the president had no authority to issue such notification. He requested the court to set aside the impugned notification and de-seat the respondent from the senate seat.
JI seeks reopening of former MNA’s murder case: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Tuesday decided to approach the Lahore High Court (LHC) for reopening the murder case of former JI member of the National Assembly (MNA) Dr Nazir from DG Khan, who was assassinated allegedly for his open criticism of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its founder and former PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
JI Spokesman Farid Paracha that the party has already set up a panel of legal experts including Justice (r) Sheikh Khizar Hayat, Asad Manzur Butt, Ziauddin Ansari and Mian Ramzan in this regard. Dr Nazir, who was elected MNA in the 1970 elections, was killed at his clinic in broad daylight on June 8, 1972 while attending his patients.
