Constitution doesn’t restrict convicted person from holding party position: Maryam tells ECP

Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz submitted on Tuesday a written reply to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in a case pertaining to her disqualification as PML-N vice-president.

The petition was heard by a three-member bench headed by the Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan. In her reply, Maryam wrote there is no restriction in the Constitution and the Election Act barring a convicted person from holding a party post.

The PML - N leader further said that these laws were made during dictatorships to bar the nomination of the public representatives. The parliament had eliminated this clause in Election Act 2017, Maryam added.

The hearing has been adjourned till July 4, local media reported.

On May 9, PTI lawmakers Barrister Malika Bukhari, Farrukh Habib, Kanwal Shauzab and Javeria Zafar had challenged Maryam’s appointment, saying that her appointment as a PML-N vice-president is in contradiction with the constitution and law of the land.

The petition also stated that the PML-N leader has been declared disqualified for any political or public office. PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif approved the appointment of Maryam as one of the party’s vice-presidents on May 3. The party head also appointed his son Hamza Shehbaz as one of the vice presidents of PML-N.