A larger bench of the apex court on Tuesday dismissed all petitions seeking the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution. A seven-member bench headed by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk and comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Mushir Alam resumed the hearing of a set of petitions seeking the disqualification of PM Nawaz Sharif for his alleged August 29 misstatement of facts on the floor of parliament.
The petitions were filed by PTI leader Ishaq Khan Khakwani, PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Insaf Lawyers Wing Advocate Gohar Nawaz Sindhu, stating that Nawaz Sharif lied on the floor of the house, due to which he ceased to be a 'Sadiq' and an 'Ameen' under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.
During the course of proceedings, the bench observed that the PM's name was not clearly mentioned in a tweet of DG (ISPR) Major Asim Bajwa as the Bajwa's tweet referred to the government asking the army to play a facilitative role for the resolution of a political crisis in the country. Hence the word 'government' could suggest any member of the federal cabinet, the bench added.
The court while rejecting the petitions said the matter had to be forwarded to NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and then to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the current scenario, adding that the court was not the right body to be approached for this purpose. Insaf Lawyers Wing Advocate Gohar Nawaz Sindhu argued that the PM Nawaz Sahrif stated in his speech on the floor of the national assembly that Chaudhry Nisar has received a telephone call in which a message was delivered that Imran Khan and Tahir ul Qadri wanted to meet the army chief. He added the PM has admitted in his speech that he has given a go-ahead signal.
Upon which, Justice Saqib Nisar observed that the PM had not made a direct reference to the army and had only endorsed the opinion of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Irfan Qadir, the counsel for PTI leader Ishaq Khan Khakwani, argued that the prime minister has given responsibility to Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to act as a mediator and guarantor between the government on one side and PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on the other to help end the political impasse. However, the premier denied on the floor of the parliament about the above mentioned facts which were proved by a tweet of the Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major Asim Bajwa. The bench asked Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt whether DG ISPR had mentioned the PM's name in any press conference after the said tweet, upon which Butt replied that the said matter revolves around the said tweet only. Neither Bajwa nor any other military person mentioned the premier's name.
The court said it could not order the trial of PM Nawaz under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution as there was a Parliament in place, adding that it could be possible if elections were in process. Later, the bench ordered the dismissal of all petitions seeking the premier's disqualification.