Plea seeking restoration of Nawaz as PML-N President declared inadmissible

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday declared a petition inadmissible praying to restore former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and upheld the objection of the registrar’s office to the admissibility of the petition.

The court held that the high court could not take up the case as Nawaz Sharif had been disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Earlier, the petition filed by a bar member Afaq Ahmed was placed before the court as an objection case.

The petitioner reading the objection raised by the registrar’s office said, “The objection of the registrar’s office is that Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court. The plea seeking his restoration as the party president can be filed in the Supreme Court”.

The court turned down the petitioner’s plea and advised him that it would be appropriate to file an amendment plea.

The petitioner contended in his petition that the Supreme Court had barred Nawaz Sharif from heading his party following the disqualification in the Panama Papers case.

He said the election commission also disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Khan from NA-95 on charges of submitting false declaration. However, he said, Imran Khan had not been restrained from heading his party.

The petitioner, therefore, asked the court to restore Nawaz Sharif as president of PML-N.

The petitioner also sought court ruling for proceedings against Imran Khan, Sheikh Rashid and Sirajul Haq under Article 63 of the constitution.

Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was disqualified in July 2017 by the apex court as Prime Minister in a suo-moto case initiated following panama papers leaks. Imran Khan, Shaikh Rashid and Sirajul Haq had also filed petition for removal of Nawaz Sharif from the party office. The Supreme Court inclining with the petitioners had ordered removal of Nawaz Sharif as president of the party.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023