IHC throws out plea challenging Shehbaz’s eligibility

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of Opposition Leader in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif as chairman Public Accounts Committee (PAC), declaring it as non-maintainable.

A divisional bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mohsin Akhter Kiyani announced the verdict, which was earlier reserved by the court on December 31 after hearing the arguments.

The petitioner had stated in his plea that Shehbaz’s appointment as the chairman of the committee is illegal, adding that producing the PML-N leader’s production orders was a violation of accountability laws.

In its 14-page verdict, the court stated that NA proceedings have exemption under Article 69 of the Constitution, and the PAC falls in that ambit.

It stated that Shehbaz Sharif, as well as Saad Rafique, are yet to be declared ineligible as members of National Assembly (MNA), and that they will be presumed innocent until proven guilty. MNAs cannot be barred from attending the session in violation of the Constitution, it stated.

The verdict also stated that Shehbaz’s appointment as PAC has not been directly challenged, but the petition only sought stopping him from presiding over sessions as he is in National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) custody.

It added that it is the NA speaker’s prerogative to issue production orders of lawmakers. If the production order are a hindrance for NAB’s investigation officer, then they could have taken it up with the speaker, it stated.

Source: The Express Tribune