INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Parliamentarian for not being honest, concealing his employment in UAE based company as well as his monthly salary.Last week, an IHC
three-member bench headed by Justice Athar Minallah, disqualified Khawaja Asif under Article 62 (1)(f) of the Constitution for failing to
disclose his employment in a UAE company and the monthly salary he was drawing.The court had disqualified Khawaja Asif on the petition,
filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Usman Dar, alleging that the former foreign minister had not disclosed in his nomination
papers for 2013 general elections, his employment in a UAE company and monthly salary.The court had held that the former foreign minister
was not qualified to contest the 2013 general elections from NA-110 as he did not fulfil the conditions described under Article 62(1)(f) of
to appeal under Article 185(3) of the Constitution against the IHC judgment.He prayed to the apex court to set aside the IHC judgment as
well as the notification of Election Commission of Pakistan, de-notifying him as member of the National Assembly from NA-110 Silakot.In his
respondent (Asif) had deliberately and willfully not disclosed his status as an employee of the company, nor receiving the salary pursuant
when the requirement in law was to disclose assets and liabilities, which he did so honestly and even the salary of AED9000 was plainly
such disclosures, there was no basis for the IHC to conclude that he did not fulfill the conditions of Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution
adding that in relation to the non-disclosure of the dormant bank account, the IHC bench had gone beyond the pleadings of the petitioner.He
further contended that the Supreme Court in case of Muhammad Hanif Abbasi verses Jehnagir Khan Tareen PLD 2018 SC 114 had meticulously laid
down the benchmark for the exercise of quo warranto jurisdiction stating that the power of quo warranto in relation to parliamentarians
could validly be exercised by the courts of the disqualification attributed to them had direct and close nexus to corruption whereas the
words corrupt, corruption or corrupt practices do not even find mention in the entire memo of the petition filed by Usman Dar before the
as well as the notification of Election Commission of Pakistan, de-notifying him as member of the National Assembly from NA-110 Silakot.
