Islamabad (June 06, 2018): The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday declared mandatory the submission of an affidavit along with electoral nomination papers.
A five-member bench, headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, was hearing the petition filed by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
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“Why are you embarrassed in providing information to the public?” Chief Justice Nisar remarked. “Why is the speaker [Sadiq] hesitant about representatives of the public disclosing their information. Is there some information that Ayaz Sadiq wants to conceal?”
Chief Justice of Pakistan made it clear that Supreme Court does not want to delay elections.
The petitioner’s lawyer then responded that Sadiq did not want to keep any information, to which Justice Nisar replied, “What is the fuss all about then?”
The chief justice remarked that the Lahore High Court’s verdict could be upheld. “We want to see which information is it that the NA Speaker is unwilling to disclose,” he said.
“Is it in the NA Speaker’s jurisdiction to challenge the verdict of a court?” the chief justice observed. He noted that according to the Article 218 of the Constitution of Pakistan, conducting the elections was the responsibility of ECP. “Any issue pertaining to the electoral nomination papers is also covered by Article 218.”
“Why are the powers of ECP being reduced,” Chief Justice Nisar said, adding that the apex court will uphold the LHC’s decision.
The larger bench then ordered ECP to submit the content of the affidavit to the Supreme Court within an hour’s time.
The affidavit includes details about holding foreign passports, dual nationality, and any criminal cases against the candidates.
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