ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday said that the apex court in its judgments had already set the criteria for the application of Article 62 (1)(f).
A three-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Ayesha A Malik heard the case filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda challenging his lifelong disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the subsequent ruling by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
During the course of proceedings, Advocate Waseem Sajjad, counsel for Faisal Vawda, said that his client neither hid facts nor did anything in bad faith. The chief justice said that the declaration of Article 62(1)(f) could only be given by the court. He said that no one could be declared dishonest without examining the evidence. It was not so easy to disqualify someone for life, he added.
He said that the judicial declaration meant recording of evidence. The Chief Justice said that Faisal Vawda had renounced his US citizenship after submitting his nomination papers to the ECP. He said that the debate should be whether the disqualification was limited to contesting elections or for life in the present case.
Justice Mansoor asked Waseem Sajjad when did Faisal Vawda submit his nomination papers. Advocate Waseem Sajjad replied that his client had submitted his nomination papers on June 7, 2018 while scrutiny took place on June 18, 2018.
Justice Mansoor asked the counsel when did Faisal Vawda submit the affidavit. Waseem Sajjad responded that Faisal Vawda had submitted the affidavit on June 11, 2018. The returning officer was also told that Vawda had given up his US nationality, he added.
He said that Faisal Vawda went to the US Embassy and stated that he was giving up his nationality. He said that the PTI leader also got his National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) cancelled.
Justice Mansoor asked whether Faisal Vawda went to the embassy and verbally tell them to cancel the passport. Waseem Sajjad replied that Faisal Vawda did not have to give the proof for cancelling his nationality. Upon this, Justice Mansoor observed that Faisal Vawda did not bother to clear the issue of dual citizenship before submitting his affidavit on June 11, 2018.
Advocate Waseem Sajjad argued that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) issued a certificate of cancellation of US citizenship on May 29, 2018.
Justice Ayesha observed that Faisal Vawda’s US citizenship had not been cancelled at the time of filing the affidavit.
The counsel said that the real question was the declaration of life-long disqualification which the commission could not grant. He said that Article 63(1)(c) applied to dual citizenship. A member on dual citizenship was only de-seated, not disqualified for life, he added.
Subsequently, the hearing of the case was adjourned till Wednesday (October 12).
BHC VERDICT IN REKO DIQ CORRUPTION CASE SUSPENDED
The Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the Balochistan High Court’s (BHC) order and also dismissed bails granted to the accused.
A three-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah heard the case against the BHC’s verdict of awarding bails to the accused.
During the course of proceedings, the court barred the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from arresting the accused for 60 days.
The Chief Justice said that two accused were granted bail after arrest and eight others were awarded bail before arrest by the BHC without a solid reason.
He said that the parameters for bail had changed and without reviewing the facts, the bail could not be granted to the accused.
He said that the court was not sending the accused to jail, but sending them to relevant forum for the verdict. The authority to grant bail was now with the Accountability Court after the amendments in the NAB laws, he added.
Setting aside the verdict of BHC in Reko Diq corruption case, the court directed the accused to contact the Accountability Court within 60 days and barred the NAB from arresting the accused during the said period.
