Muzaffarabad: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed ousted Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas’ plea challenging his disqualification by the region’s High Court.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) ousted Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas on Wednesday challenged his disqualification by the region’s High Court.
In a major blow to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the AJK High Court removed Ilyas from the post of prime minister, making him the first prime minister in the region to be disqualified in a contempt of court case.
However, the politician approached the Supreme Court of AJK through a petition challenging the High Court’s decision that called Ilyas the “Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir”.
On this, the Registrar Office of the Supreme Court returned the application with objection.
During the hearing, AJK Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram reprimanded the petitioner’s lawyers for referring to Ilyas as the “present Prime Minister”.
He asked why you did not comply when the registrar raised the objection.
On this, Ilyas’ lawyer requested the court to consider writing him as “former prime minister”.
“How can we read it as ‘former’. You are a senior advocate and this is the Supreme Court,” remarked the justice.
He observed that until the Supreme Court takes action, the High Court decision will stand and Ilyas will be considered as the former Prime Minister.
The court then directed the lawyers to file a fresh application saying that the court will see when to take it up. After which the lawyers removed the objections raised on the application and left.
Before the hearing, Ilyas’ lawyer, Sardar Raziq Khan, while talking to the media, said that there is a procedure to disqualify the prime minister in the constitution.
The lawyer said that the Election Commission cannot disqualify a prime minister without following this procedure.
He added that the maximum punishment for contempt of court is six months.
Khan termed the notification disqualifying Ilyas as “unconstitutional”, saying, “Sardar Tanveer Ilyas is still the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.”
AJK high court disqualifies PM Sardar Tanveer Ilyas
The high court’s decision on Tuesday came after Ilyas was summoned to the Supreme Court and High Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir for using “threatening tone” in one of his speeches.
A full bench headed by Justice Sadaqat Hussain Raja heard the case. Clips of Elias were played during the hearing.
Elias apologized unconditionally to the court and said that if any of my words hurt the judge, I apologize unconditionally.
But the prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir was sentenced until the court rose.
