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Taking
notice of the indifferent attitude of the deputy
attorney-general and non-compliance of the court
orders on a petition against President Asif Ali
Zardari holding dual offices, a full bench of the
Sindh High Court directed the attorney-general of
Pakistan to appear and represent the federation’s
case on the issue of president’s dual offices.
The court was hearing
the petition of Rasheed A Akhund, an advocate of the
Supreme Court and an associate of former prime
minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who had filed the
petition against the dual offices of President Asif
Ali Zardari, remarks of the law minister on the
judicial functions of the judiciary and making the
High Treason Act executable.
The petitioner
submitted in his petition that the president should
exercise his powers and functions in accordance with
the Constitution. However, he, in violation of
Articles 41, 46, 48 and 90, did not always act on
the advice of the prime minster and intervened in
his functions unconstitutionally.
He said that the
president had been acting in violation of the
Constitution by also heading the ruling political
party and, thus, exploiting his high status as
symbol of the state.
Rasheed Akhund also
questioned in the petition the effectiveness of the
High Treason (Punishment) Act and prayed the court
to direct the speaker of the National Assembly and
the chairman of Senate to pass laws under Article
141 to provide for an objective and self-regulating
law for an effective, workable, executable and
constant machinery with direct powers to the chief
justice of Pakistan to enforce Article 6, if need
be, at his discretion by appointing a special court
for the trial of the offender under Article 6.
As the matter was
taken up, the court took a serious exception to the
non-compliance of court directives by the deputy
attorney-general who had been directed on December
13 to obtain instructions from the speaker of the
National Assembly, the chairman of Senate, the
secretary of parliamentary affairs and others on the
petition that sought direction to President Zardari
for resigning his post of co-chairman of the
Pakistan People’s Party and detach himself from
political activities during his tenure as president.
The DAG in December
had undertaken before the court to obtain
instructions to inform the court whether the AGP
himself would appear or engage any other counsel or
instruct any of the DAGs to represent the interest
of the parliamentary affairs.
Although the
directions were issued in the presence of the deputy
attorney-general on last hearing, yet none was
present on behalf of the federal government on
Monday.
A full bench, headed
by Chief Justice Mushir Alam, observed that
important questions regarding interpretation of the
various provisions of the Constitution were involved
in the petition, but it was very unfortunate to note
that the deputy attorney-general had not even
bothered to appear in and inform the court the
response of any of the respondents.
The court also issued
a show-cause notice to the deputy attorney-general
as why his matter might not be recommended to the
attorney-general of Pakistan for taking action for
insubordination to the direction and orders of the
court.
The court directed
the attorney-general of Pakistan to personally
appear in the case on the next date of hearing
otherwise the court would be constrained to proceed
the matter on the basis of the material available on
the merits.
On serving of notices
to President Asif Ali Zardari, the court observed
that a notice to the president and co-chairman of
the PPP had been served which was reflected in a
report of the district and sessions judge Islamabad,
therefore, the service was held good. The court will
resume the case after four weeks.
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