Lahore: The High Court reserved its decision on Sheikh Rasheed’s petition against the appointment of Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi.
During the trial, Justice Shahid Karim inquired whether the petitioner himself had given any names, to which the lawyer said that the petitioner was a voter. The court asked which names were given by the parties for caretaker chief minister, on which the court was told that the names of Ahad Cheema and Ahmad Nawaz Sukhira were given.
The court remarked that the seriousness of the parties can be gauged by seeing this name. The lawyer told the court that everyone knew from day one that Mohsin Naqvi would be the chief minister. The court said that we only have to see what process was followed for the appointment of Mohsin Naqvi.
The court remarked that the Election Commission has full authority to appoint caretaker Chief Minister. Caretaker Chief Minister’s job is only to conduct elections. The lawyer told the court that questions are being raised on the appointment of Mohsin Naqvi from the first day.
Later, the lawyer of the Election Commission argued in the court that the Election Commission is a constitutional body and works under the Constitution. The Election Commission unanimously appointed the Caretaker Chief Minister. The parties could not appoint a caretaker chief minister within the given time. The Election Commission appointed Mohsin Naqvi under the constitution. Counsel pleaded that the application be dismissed as inadmissible.
During the hearing, the lawyer of the federal government argued that if the caretaker chief minister misuses his powers, then the Election Commission and the courts are there. The Election Commission has stopped the implementation of several decisions of the Caretaker Chief Minister. The Election Commission has the final authority to appoint the Caretaker Chief Minister.
The court said that if the Election Commission is neutral and independent, then a caretaker chief minister cannot do anything. If the parties agree on one of the proposed names, the matter does not go to the Election Commission. That is why none of the parties challenged.
Later, the court reserved its decision on Sheikh Rushd’s plea against the appointment of Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
(function(d, s, id){
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3&appId=770767426360150”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.7”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));