Petition against Gilani: deputy AGP asked to appear before LHC on April 11

Lahore High Court Chief Justice here on Wednesday asked the Deputy Attorney General for Pakistan to appear before the court on April 11 in a petition that had sought disqualification of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on the grounds that he was an alleged loan defaulter and had helped her wife Fozia Gilani get loan write-off.
Earlier, the chief justice asked the petitioner's counsel how the prime minister could be punished if his wife got her loan written off. The petitioner, Tariq Ahmad, contended that the wife of the prime minister had obtained billions of rupees loan from Zarai Taraqiati Bank (ZTBL) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). He said when she failed to pay back the loan the banks approached a banking court and obtain a decree against Ms Gilani. Later, he said, Ms Gilani got the loan written off by using political clout of her husband.
According to the petitioner, under Article 63 of the constitution if a parliamentarian or his spouse or any of his dependents defaults in payment, the parliamentarian stands disqualified. Adjourning the proceedings, CJ Sheikh Azmat Saeed, asked a Deputy Attorney General for Pakistan to argue on the maintainability of the petition on the next date of hearing.