ISLAMABAD, Sep 27(ABC): A plea seeking PML-N leader Ishaq Dar’s disqualification was withdrawn by the petitioners on Tuesday, ahead of his oath-taking as a senator.
Dar — who touched down in Pakistan on Monday night after ending five years of self-imposed exile in the UK — will be sworn in as a senator today at 4pm, sources privy to the matter said. He will take oath as the new finance minister as well, tomorrow (September 28) at 10am.
A bench of four members of the ECP, headed by Nisar Durrani, resumed hearing the plea seeking Dar’s disqualification today.
The petitioner’s counsel maintained that they want to approach the high court on this case, therefore, they are taking the plea back.
At this, the ECP directed the petitioner, Advocate Azhar Siddique, to submit a written statement for the plea’s withdrawal.
“It is respectfully submitted that I want to withdraw present petition with permission to file fresh if so needed. As the ECP is not a court and interpretation is involved in this case in view of judgments of the Supreme Court dated PLD 2018 SC 189, 2015 SCMR 1303, 2021 SCMR 1675, PLD 2018 Sindh 263, we may file an alternate remedy as well,” the petitioner said in the written statement.
On Monday, the ECP had reserved its verdict on a petition seeking to declare Dar’s seat in the Senate “vacant” over his failure to take oath as a senator within 60 days of being elected.
Dar’s counsel had argued that the ordinance, promulgated by the president, about 60 days for taking oath “does not apply on his client”.
“The ordinance lapsed after completing its constitutional life,” the lawyer argued, adding that a member cannot be disqualified if he does not take the oath even for 5 years.
Dar was successfully elected to the Senate from Punjab but had yet to be administered the oath. The former finance minister has been out of the country since October 2017 on account of his medical treatment.
He has since been declared a proclaimed offender in a corruption case filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau.
However, an accountability court in the federal capital on September 23 suspended the arrest warrants of Ishaq Dar till October 7 in a case pertaining to him being a proclaimed offender.