- Division bench upholds single bench decision, dismissing the petition for being not maintainable
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday dismissed an Intra-Court Appeal (ICA) that contested Ishaq Dar’s appointment as Deputy Prime Minister.
The appeal, filed by a citizen Ashba Kamran, argued that the DPM position is unconstitutional.
The two-member division bench of the LHC headed by Justice Chaudhry Iqbal dismissed the petition and upheld the ruling by the single bench.
The LHC’s decision indicates it found the appointment valid, despite the constitutional arguments presented. This dismissal concludes the legal challenge, upholding Dar’s current role. The ruling affirms the established authority and legitimacy of the appointment.
The high court announced the verdict reserved a day earlier upon completion of the hearing.
A single bench of Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan had previously dismissed the petition for being not maintainable.
The appellant Ashba Kamran argued that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed Ishaq Dar as Deputy Prime Minister in violation of the Constitution, as there is no provision for the office of Deputy Prime Minister in the Constitution.
The petition also argued that Ishaq Dar, being a senator, is not eligible to hold the office of Deputy Prime Minister, requesting the court to declare his appointment as Deputy Prime Minister null and void.
A day earlier, the two-member LHC bench, headed by Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal, reserved its judgement the intra-court appeal challenging the appointment of Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as DPM.
During the hearing, representing the federal government, Additional Attorney General Nasir Ahmed Mirza contended that the prime minister has the discretionary authority to nominate a deputy prime minister.
He further argued that Ishaq Dar is neither exercising executive powers as Deputy PM nor receiving any salary or privileges associated with the title.
After hearing both sides, the court reserved its decision, which will be announced at a later date.
