The Supreme Court on Thursday was asked to initiate contempt proceedings against former premier and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif for portraying the apex court as bargain center. Shahid Orakzai filed the petition under Article 204 of the constitution making Nawaz Sharif and Federation as respondents.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Nawaz had said that he was approached by someone with the option that cases against him including disqualification from contesting the election would be cleared if he stops raising the enhanced marks issue of Farah Hameed Dogar. "I do not want to name the personality who sent the message but I was asked to stop demanding resignation of Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar," Nawaz said.
Orakzai prayed in his petition that Nawaz did not prefer to identify the person nor did he state whether the person and his main emphasis was on the proposed bargain (which he publicly rejected) than the official capacity of the communicator or the influence exercised on the Court.
"This court, therefore, is duty bound to discover the person in the first instance before it determines any other question of fact or law... no contempt proceedings shall consequently lie against Nawaz if he identifies the person who is painting the apex court as a bargain center or exchange. But without identifying the person, the respondent ex-prime minister is surely scandalising the court and committing offence defined in sub-clause (b) (c) and (d) of Clause (2) of Article 204."
The contempt has actually been committed by the person offering the bargain than the respondent's (Nawaz) decision to publicise it. The person who is acting as the broker of the Supreme Court must be discovered, the petition added.
Orakzai said in his petition that Nawaz has earlier struck deals suiting his convenience and this Court has examined at least one such deal, which was brokered by some foreigners between him and ex-president General Pervez Musharraf.
The petitioner also posed a question through his petition saying the court may recall that it was unable to enforce the decision of its seven-member bench endorsing the respondent's (Nawaz) right to enter Pakistan ending his exile. Consequently, Nawaz managed his entry through the back-stage influence of king in the Middle East if the respondent had somehow accepted the bargain, what would be the status of the Supreme Court of Pakistan?