Pakistan People's Party (PPP) would challenge in the Supreme Court the decision of Lahore High Court (LHC) which said that the President of Pakistan should suspend political activities and could not use the Aiwan-e-Sadr for such purpose.
"It is not a constitutional decision, and we have decided to challenge it in the apex court, and in the court of public. It is impossible for the President to quit political office. There is not any clause in the Constitution that prevents the President to hold dual offices. Can the implementation be made on this judgement? The President is a part of Parliament and it is incomplete without the president," PPP leader Pervez Ashraf said at a news conference on Saturday.
He said that President Asif Zardari is political person and he was elected with two-thirds majority votes by the representatives of people. "He is an elected and democratic president". He said: "In the history of the country, military dictators had held two offices and our judiciary had validated it. But this issue was never brought under discussion. It is double standard and open contradiction which is not in the favour of the country. Nobody had objected when Asif Zardari filed his nomination paper in the Election Commission of Pakistan for candidature of President."
Ashraf said that PPP respects the judiciary and believes in its independence. And for this purpose, the party workers struggled and sacrificed their lives for independent of judiciary. He said that Asif Ali Zardari is first democratic President who addressed three joint sessions of the Parliament and talked about the performance and politics of Pakistan. Afterwards, the National Assembly and Senate debated the presidential speech for many days. "Is this not political process?"
He said that the president is part of democratic process and Pakistan could not afford to weaken the political and democratic process. He said that heads of all political parties and Parliamentarians called on President Asif Ali Zardari. He said that the PPP is the biggest political party of federation and its parliamentarians and members of central executive committee (CEC) go to meet their party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
About recent marathon joint session of the Parliament, the PPP leader said that for the first time in the history of Pakistan the supremacy of the Parliament was accepted. About Mehmood Qureshi, he said, "He was elected on the PPP ticket with party's votes. I suggest Qureshi should resign from his seat and then make demand for the resignation of the President and Prime Minister."