ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Daniyal Aziz on Friday decided to field his wife in 2018 general elections after being disqualified himself by the Supreme Court for five years in the contempt of court case.
According to media reports, the top brass of the PML-N has issued a ticket to his wife Mehnaz Akbar Aziz for NA-77 Narowal.
The former minister had earlier announced to field his father in the forthcoming election from his constituency but his father Anwar Aziz Chaudhry was already a PML-N ticket holder for provincial assembly seat from Narowal.
Daniyal Aziz then decided to field his wife from his constituency and the PML-N has also issued a ticket to Mehnaz Akbar Aziz.
SC FINDS DANIYAL GUILTY:
On Thursday, the Supreme Court found former federal privatisation minister Daniyal Aziz guilty of contempt of court and sentenced him till the rising of the court, which renders him disqualified to contest elections for a period of five years under Article 63 (1) (g) of the Constitution.
According to Article 63 (1) (g) of the Constitution, a person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), if he has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction…unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release.
After Nehal Hashmi, Daniyal is second Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader who has been convicted in a contempt case.
A three-judge bench of the top court, which had taken suo motu notice of Aziz’s anti-judiciary remarks, heard the proceedings since February this year.
As the three-member bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed, convened to announce the verdict, Justice Mushir Alam, who was part of the original bench, was given the verdict for reading out.
Justice Alam, however, decided to wait for Aziz before announcing the verdict as the former minister had not arrived in court.
As Aziz later reached the top court, the court ruled that he committed contempt.
The court also ruled that it deliberately showed leniency and did not send Aziz to jail for six months under the law.
Aziz denied ever saying the words for which he was held in contempt. “I never said the words that were written in the newspaper and for which I was held in contempt,” he claimed.
Aziz argued that the contemptuous phrases on whose basis he was held in contempt were censored with a beep when they were aired in news bulletins, which according to Aziz, was akin to him not having said it.
“I have never violated the court’s orders,” he said. “In fact, me and my party have always implemented the court’s orders. To disagree is our right, we have always done that and will keep on doing it.”
