ISLAMABAD: A glimmer of hope appeared for PTI leader Faisal Vawda on Tuesday when Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial referred to the lifetime disqualification of MPs under Article 62 (1)(f) as a “draconian statute.”
Faisal Vawda, the leader of the PTI, appealed against being permanently barred from holding public office before a three-judge panel of the Supreme Court, which was presided over by CJP Bandial.
Today’s hearing
CJP Bandial stated throughout the hearings that Article 62 (1)(f) is a harsh law. We will attentively and in-depth consider the situation. Vawda’s attorney, Waseem Sajjad, said to the court that after two years of victory, a disqualification petition was filed at the high court for presenting a fake affidavit at the time of the elections.
The CJP retorted that the ECP has the right to look into fake affidavits and said that the facts would stay the same even if the highest court overturned the ECP decision.The top judgement stated, “The ECP properly reviewed the facts; nonetheless, the question is whether the election commission has the competence to permanently disqualify a lawmaker or not.”The hearing was postponed to October 6 by the SC in the interim.
The situation
In a dual citizenship matter, on February 9, the ECP disqualified Vawda in accordance with Article 62 (1) (f) of the Constitution.The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) said in the verdict, which was 27 pages long, that Faisal Vawda had presented a fake affidavit while filing his candidacy papers for the 2018 elections.
The ECP had also de-notified him as a senator after the ruling.The PTI leader filed a petition with the SC on February 18 contesting his lifetime disqualification.
Vawda requested leave to appeal against an order from the Election Commission of Pakistan dated February 9 and an Islamabad High Court decision dated February 16, 2022, in a plea to the SC under Article 185 (3) of the Constitution.
