Supreme Court admits Khawaja Asif disqualification appeal for hearing

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday admitted a petition filed by former foreign minister Khawaja Asif challenging his disqualification in an iqama case last week. The apex court has fixed the hearing for May 4. In his petition, Khawaja Asif maintained that he had unintentionally failed to mention his foreign bank account in the nomination papers. The PML-N leader, however, said that he had already declared his foreign bank account and UAE-based work permit even before a petition was filed against him. The former foreign minister pleaded with the top court to strike down the Islamabad High Court verdict and subsequent ECP’s notification and restore his membership of National Assembly. On April 26, Khawaja Asif was disqualified by the Islamabad High Court on the basis of holding an Abu Dhabi Iqama (work permit).Justice Athar Minallah heading a three-member bench, read out the order disqualifying the foreign minister under Article 62(1)(f). Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani were the other members of the bench."We declare that the Respondent was not qualified to contest the General Election of 2013 from NA 110 as he did not fulfill the conditions described under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, read with section 99(1)(f) of the Act of 197," the judgement stated.Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Usman Dar had filed this petition seeking disqualification of Asif for concealing the facts that he was an Iqama holder, legal advisor of a company in UAE and his recent labour card was issued on June 29, 2017. Khawaja Asif on the other hand took a view that he concealed nothing and his Iqama was declared in the nomination paper.The petitioner adopted that Supreme Court on July 28 disqualified former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif for possessing an ‘Iqama’ and Khawaja Asif can also be disqualified on similar grounds.