Petition filed in PHC to conduct dope test of KP Parliamentarians

On Tuesday a lawyer requested the Peshawar High Court to give the orders to Election Commission of Pakistan to conduct a dope test of all the MNAs and other members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. He also requested that if the results of the dope test are positive for any major drug, for anyone he or she shall face disqualification from the assembly.

The writ petition filed by Advocate Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel also included that the court shall direct the ECP to make arrangements for 2018 general elections and local bodies, as well as to make it mandatory for a candidate to go through drug/intoxicant test and submit their results with their nomination forms. Furthermore, he requested the court to direct ECP to initiate drug test of the elected members and disqualify them if they are found positive for any major drug.

The opposition in the petition consists of: ECP through its chief election commissioner; National Assembly through its secretary; ministry of law, justice and parliamentary affairs through its secretary; KP Assembly through its secretary; all member of KP Assembly; and all the members of National Assembly.

The supplicant claims that the member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly and Nation Assembly are mostly drug addicts and are not in their senses after consuming intoxicants such as alcohol, opium, heroin, charas, ice etc. He claims that the petition involves a query of public interest regarding Article 62 and 63 of Constitution in which the qualifications and disqualifications are elaborately discussed.

He stated that the most of the MNAs and MPAs do not fulfill the given criteria to become an elected member of their respective Assemblies as most of them are do not follow the Islamic injunctions and are involved in major sins.

He stated that according to Article 62 (d) a person, who is of a good character and is not commonly known as one who violates Islamic injunctions, is qualified to become a member of parliament and provincial assembly. Furthermore, he said that Article 62 (e) further clarifies that MPAs and MNAs shall have sufficient knowledge of Islamic teachings and also practice obligatory duties prescribed by Islam as well as refrain from major sins.

The petitioner had also quoted several verses of The Holy Quran and sayings of The Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the motive of the petitioner was that consuming intoxicant is a major sin and those involved in it are not capable to become members of parliament as well as provincial assemblies.

He argued that the practice of drug test will benefit the public a lot and would also be in the interest of justice if this court directs ECP to instigate the practice. He states that the elected members, who are using intoxicants and major drugs, cannot raise voice for the rights of their constituency in the provincial and National Assembly.

Source: The Nation