A division bench of the Lahore High Court denied hearing an application requesting to stay the presidential elections. The bench remarked that already a division bench has recommended fixation of an identical matter before a larger bench and therefore it is improper to hear this petition.
The bench referred the petition before the division bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan. As the bench heading by Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh started hearing the application, petitioner Muhammad Azhar Siddique submitted that article 63 of the Constitution will not be applicable and allow any unsound mind, dual national to contest the presidential election.
He had moved this application into his pending Intra Court Appeal challenging amendment made in section 5 of the president election rules, whereby the application of Article 63 was deleted. The applicant stated that the Presidential Election Rules, 1988 was gazetted on December 3, 1988. He stated that disqualification was provided in Article 63 but the then election commission on September 10, 2007 through a notification amended the rule and disqualification condition was removed.
He said it had made it possible that a President of Pakistan could be of unsound mind, un-discharged insolvent, dual national, convicted from a competent court on charges of contempt of court propagating any opinion or acting in any manner prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan or sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan, or otherwise, dismissed from service, had obtained a loan in the amount of two million rupees or above from any bank or financial institution, a defaulter of government dues and utility expenses in excess of 10,000 rupees.