Acting president: Petition challenging Sanjrani's appointment rejected by IHC

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) turned down a petition challenging the appointment of Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani as acting president in the absence of the president of Pakistan.
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Aamer Farooq announced the judgement, which he had reserved after hearing arguments of both the sides in this matter, and declared that Sanjrani is eligible to perform his duties as acting president of Pakistan. The IHC bench dismissed the petition by terming it non-maintainable.
Previously, Deputy Attorney General Raja Khalid Mahmood appeared before the court and opposed the petition, saying that there is no mentioning of qualification in the Constitution for appointment of acting president. He said no prescribed age for the acting president is written in the Constitution. He said that the Senate chairman holds the office of the president in the latter's absence.
He recalled that the minimum age for being a member of the Senate is 30 years and the upper house elects the chairman from amongst its members. He said the petitioner filed this petition with 'mala fide' intention and Balochistan High Court (BHC) has already given its verdict in this connection.
Afzal Khan Shinwari filed the petition through his counsel Iftikhar Bashir, arguing that Sanjrani cannot become the acting president of Pakistani because he does not meet the requirements set by the Constitution.
He adopted in his petition that according to Article 49 of the Constitution, the Senate chairman becomes acting president in the absence of the head of state, however, Article 41 states that the individual needs to be more than 45 years of age to become the president.
The petitioner stated that Sanjrani was born in 1978 and is 40-year-old, and does not fulfil the basic requirement. "Sanjrani is therefore not qualified to hold the office of the president even in the acting capacity," contended Shinwari.