LHC issues notice to Asif Zardari in dual office case
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued a notice to President Asif Ali Zardari during the hearing in the dual office case.
The legal challenge to Zardari over his two posts does not pose an immediate threat to the president but it is a reminder of the legal difficulties he faces, legal analysts said.
The Pakistan Lawyers Forum (PLF) filed a petition, or a challenge, questioning the right of the president to hold the two offices and in response, the High Court in the city of Lahore ordered Zardari’s principal secretary to explain.
“Since the president could not appear because of security reasons, the court asked his principal secretary to appear in court on May 25,” PLF president A.K. Dogar told reporters outside the court.
There is no constitutional bar on the president holding office in a political party but Dogar said the Supreme Court had in the past barred a president from holding a party post.
“Our Supreme Court judges decided in 1993 that the president should be non-partisan. He should not involve himself in political battles. He should shun politics but here he is a party head, which is illegal,” he said.
Hearing in the dual office case was then adjourned till May 27.
Monday, 17 May, 2010
Courtesy: daily dawn
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