News
Friday, May 13, 2011
President can’t do politics: LHC* Court expects Zardari will disassociate himself from political office at the earliest
* President’s involvement in political activities is not covered by presidential immunity
Staff Report
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday, while disposing of a set of petitions against President Asif Ali Zardari’s holding of two offices, that of the Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman and President of Pakistan, ruled that according to the constitution, president, being head of the state, cannot take part in political activities.
The court, in its verdict, hoped that President Zardari would abide by the law and would disassociate himself from the party’s political office at the earliest possible. It also expected that the president would cease to use the Presidency for political meetings of his party.
A full bench of the high court, headed by LHC Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain, Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, announced the judgement that was earlier reserved on May 10. The court had been holding ex parte proceedings on the petitions moved by Pakistan Lawyers’ Forum head AK Dogar and others for disqualification of President Zardari for also holding the office PPP co-chairman.
The full bench observed that use of the Presidency for political purposes was inconsistent with its sanctity, dignity, neutrality and independence, and remarked that the president’s participation in the said party’s decisions was extraneous to the duties and functions of his office and that such participation could not be treated as being done in the performance of his duties and therefore immune under Article 248 of the constitution. The court, however, refrained from issuing any prohibitory direction to the president keeping in view the immunity enjoyed by him under Article 248 of the constitution. But, it did held that the president’s involvement in politics that was not in discharge of his official duties and obligations restricted his immunity from judicial process and called for a judicial intervention to enforce the constitution.
The court held that the fact that the president in his capacity as PPP co-chairperson was taking political decisions in the Presidency had two aspects – such action is inconsistent with his obligations as envisaged by the constitution – and such action involved property of the state, namely, the Presidency. About giving relief to the petitioners, the court observed that this was clearly not a case for disqualification of the president. In its judgement, the court relied mostly on the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Nawas Sharif case.
The court, while dismissing all the petitions, ruled that President Zardari must relinquish his position as chief of the country’s ruling party.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk