Zardari disqualification: Political fights should be fought in Parliament, IHC tells PTI’s Dar

ISLAMABAD: The chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday, while hearing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) disqualification petition against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) President Asif Ali Zardari, remarked that political fights should be fought in the relevant forums or the Parliament.

IHC CJ Justice Athar Minallah heard a petition filed by PTI leaders Usman Dar and Khurram Sher Zaman seeking Zardari’s disqualification.

As the hearing went under way, Justice Minallah told the petitioners that they will “have to satisfy the court”. “This is a case of a public nature and the court should also be satisfied regarding why the petition should be heard on priority basis.”

Dar’s counsel said, “This is a disqualification case under Article 62(1)(f) which has been filed on the basis of verified documents.”

At this, Justice Minallah said, “You can approach investigative institutions, you know how many cases are pending before the IHC. Why should we set aside numerous pending cases and hear this political case? There are numerous people in jails and we have to see their cases first.”

“This is the time when the Parliament should be strengthened. The Parliament should form a special committee to overlook this matter,” the IHC CJ added.

“Political fights should be fought in political forums or the Parliament,” he added.

Dar’s counsel then said, “Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is not the relevant forum for disqualification under Article 62(1)(f). We have the Sindh High Court (SHC) order that ECP is not the authorized forum in this case.”