A constitutional bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to decide PTI leader Shibli Faraz’s appeal against his disqualification as a senator.
Faraz, along with former National Assembly opposition leader Omar Ayub, first approached the PHC. However, it had decided to adjourn sine die (for indefinite period) the pleas, directing the petitioners to first surrender before the competent court. Later, the PTI leaders challenged the high court’s decision before the SC.
Headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, a five-member CB resumed proceedings on Shibli’s appeal, after Ayub had withdrawn his during the last hearing on Monday. The bench also included Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Shakeel Ahmad.
Faraz’s appeal challenges the PHC’s decision to indefinitely adjourn its hearings on his petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) notification de-seating him as the Senate opposition leader.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan appeared as the counsel for Faraz, while Additional Attorney General for Pakistan (AAG) Aamir Rehman represented the state.
“We were removed by the election commission with great disgrace,” Gohar contended as the hearing began. He requested that a stay order be issued on the ECP notification removing his client as a member of the upper house of Parliament, thereby halting the by-election on the vacant seat.
Responding to Justice Rizvi’s question, Gohar replied that a by-election on just one Senate seat was to be held tomorrow. Justice Rizvi also wondered why Faraz was seeking a stay order on the by-election when the PTI had also nominated candidates.
Subsequently, the bench dismissed Gohar’s request, stating that it would not interfere in the by-election process.
A by-election to fill the general seat of the Senate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday). PTI-backed Khurram Zeeshan and Irfan Saleem are contesting against PPP’s Nisar Khan and independent candidates Taj Mohammad Afridi and Abid Khan Yousafzai.
During the hearing, the ECP lawyer contended that convicts needed to surrender before a court prior to seeking any relief. Justice Mazhar asked whether the PHC had decided on the maintainability of Faraz’s petition, to which Gohar replied that the court had not disposed of the case.
“We cannot do anything in this case at this point,” Justice Mandokhail remarked. AAG Rehman also stated that the PHC should have decided the case.
Here, the ECP lawyer said the PHC had observed that the petitioners were seeking to evade the law.
At this, Justice Mandokhail asked, “Do the petitioners come to the PHC? If they do, then why are they not arrested there?”
The AAG responded that the petitioners “should have also come to the Supreme Court but they did not”.
Justice Mandokhail noted that the case before the bench only pertained to rights, to which AAG Rehman replied, “Rights are directly related to punishment. The petitioner was convicted by an anti-terrorism court.”
Justice Rizvi remarked, “The Peshawar High Court wrote 31 pages instead of a short order. It should have simply wrote a paragraph.”
After hearing the arguments of all the parties, the bench struck down the PHC order to adjourn its hearings for an indefinite period and ordered the high court to hear the respondents and decide Faraz’s petition.
Subsequently, the bench disposed of the PTI leader’s appeal.
PHC denies relief
On July 31, Faraz, along with Ayub and other lawmakers, was sentenced to 10 years in jail by a Faisalabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) for his involvement in the riots. Subsequently, he was disqualified as the Senate opposition leader under Article 63(1h) (disqualification from parliament due to conviction) of the Constitution.
On Aug 25, a Faisalabad ATC again sentenced Faraz and Ayub, among others, to 10 years in prison in a case involving an attack on PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah’s residence during the May 9 protests.
The PTI leaders had challenged their disqualifications before the PHC, which initially allowed them interim relief by restraining the ECP from taking any action against them.
However, the PHC earlier this month denied the duo, as well as then-MNA Abdul Latif Chitrali, any relief. It ordered them to first surrender before the relevant court and adjourned the petitions for an indefinite period, allowing the ECP to fill the vacant seats.
The court recalled multiple stay orders issued earlier, wherein the ECP, the Senate chairman and the National Assembly speaker were directed not to proceed further on their impugned notifications.
Ayub withdrew his appeal before the SC against his denotification as the NA opposition leader, on the grounds that Mehmood Khan Achakzai had been nominated for the role.
Polling on the Haripur (NA-18) seat left vacant due to Ayub’s disqualification will be held on November 23, the ECP has said. According to Gohar, Ayub’s wife would contest the by-election for the seat vacated by her husband.
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