World | Pakistan
Government to request poll delay
The government will challenge in the Supreme Court a high court order barring former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from contesting the forthcoming by-elections.
- By Shahid Hussain, Correspondent
- Published: 00:01 June 25, 2008
- Image Credit: AP
- Supporters of Nawaz Sharif during a protest rally outside the National Assembly in Islamabad.
Islamabad: The government will challenge in the Supreme Court a high court order barring former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from contesting the forthcoming by-elections.
Announcing this in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the government would also request the top court to postpone the poll in a Lahore constituency where Sharif is a candidate in a by-election to be held on Thursday.
Gilani said the decision to move the appeal was taken after consultations with Sharif and other leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), a major partner in the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
Officials said the appeal would be filed today. A three-judge bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday slammed the electoral door on Nawaz Sharif, citing his conviction on criminal charges after the overthrow of his government in 1999 in a military coup.
The bench however allowed the former premier's younger brother Shahbaz Sharif to continue as chief minister of Punjab province pending a decision on his eligibility by an election tribunal to be appointed by the election commission.
Gilani said the PPP was with the PML-N in this difficult time and shared the disappointment of the whole nation over the decision against the PML-N leader's participation in the polls.
He said institutions should make such decisions that do not mar their credibility and "are acceptable to the people".
The disqualification triggered street protests by federal and provincial legislators of PML-N and party workers at various places in Punjab as well as in the capital Islamabad.
The party said its leaders would not challenge the LHC decision at the Supreme Court because they did not recognise PCO (Provisional Constitution Order) judges as legitimate.
The PCO was issued by President Pervez Musharraf in November last year when he imposed emergency rule as then army chief and dismissed 60 judges of superior courts.
PML-N lawmakers attacked the court decision inside and outside the National Assembly yesterday
The party's parliamentary leader, Nisar Ali Khan, said the coalition was facing problems because the judges dismissed by Musharraf were not restored despite a joint pledge by PPP and PML-N.
Judiciary: Call to restore judges
PML-N leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi said an independent judiciary was imperative for consolidation of democracy in the country.
Hashmi said the PPP had sought a UN probe into Benazir Bhutto's assassination because no one could have trust in judges appointed on the basis of the provisional constitutional order.
Analysts say the Sharif disqualification has added to the brewing mistrust between the two coalition partners. PPP wants reinstatement as part of a package of amendments to the constitution it plans to table in the parliament after consultations with coalition partners.
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