The federation on Saturday filed a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict in Asghar Khan case contending that the office of the President of Pakistan is political. The Institution branch of the apex court, however, returned the petition as it was not supported by a Rs 10,000 court fee.
Challenging the Asghar Khan case verdict, Deputy Attorney General Dil Muhammad Khan Alizai contended that the Asghar Khan case was about 1990 election rigging and no question was raised about the office of the incumbent President of Pakistan. He further pleaded that President Asif Ali Zardari assumed office in 2008 and since then there was no political cell in the presidency.
"The Allegations in the petition before the apex court pertain to the alleged Election Cell, created by the then President and assisted by the then Chief of Army Staff, and the then Director General ISI. The Court rightly did not implead the Present Incumbents of the above Offices for good, right, and cogent reasons because the events of 1990 have no relevance to the Functionaries holding these Offices today. In this background, the Court may have similarly refrained from issuing notice to the Secretary to the President of Pakistan. By doing so, the Court has applied a different yardstick to the office of the President of Pakistan, which is an error on the face of the record and needs to be corrected," he pleaded.
Alizai maintained that the apex court had rightly concluded in the Asghar Khan verdict that it was not the institution of the Army or that of the ISI involved in the 1990 election process. "After the 18th Amendment, the position and powers of the President are very different from the position of the President under the Constitution as in force in 1990. Under the Dispensation today it is the Parliament which exercises all powers through its nominee, the Prime Minister," Alizai contended.
Comments
Comments are closed.