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Court puts off Pakistan by-poll

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday postponed Thursday’s by-election in a Lahore constituency — from where Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif was a candidate — pending its decision on the federal government’s appeal against Mr. Sharif’s disqualification.

The ruling came after the Pakistan People’s Party-led government filed a review petition against the Lahore High Court decision disqualifying Mr. Sharif from the by-election to the National Assembly. The court has posted the case for hearing on Monday.

The PML (N) leader, who has said he does not recognise the judges as they were appointed by President Pervez Musharraf during the 2007 Emergency, has distanced himself from the government petition. Nevertheless, the petition has raised fundamental questions about the PML (N)’s stand on the so-called “provisional constitutional order” judges.

Chief among them is whether Mr. Sharif would contest the election if the Supreme Court strikes down the Lahore High Court judgment. Accepting such a verdict would amount to acknowledging its Musharraf-appointed judges, which Mr. Sharif has said he will not do. On Wednesday, the three-judge Bench issued notices to all concerned parties, including Mr. Sharif, to appear before it when the petition is heard again on June 30.

One of the judges said the court could have made a decision on the petition “in two minutes” had Mr. Sharif himself appeared before the court. “We are staying the election with immediate effect,” said Justice Musa Leghari.

“We could have granted relief but one of the main difficulties is the person who is contesting elections is not before us,” he added.

Akram Sheikh, a lawyer who has represented Mr. Sharif in earlier cases and who sought to be impleaded in the case before the Supreme Court on behalf of the proposer of Mr. Sharif’s candidature, argued the PML (N) leader’s non-acceptance of the “PCO judges” was his fundamental right.

However, in an indication of how intractable the judicial crisis has become, Mr. Sheikh also said the existing Supreme Court was the “de facto” court and “lawyers are appearing before it on a de facto basis” and there could be no delivery of justice without this.

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