Pakistani Court Disqualifies Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif From Parliament

The Islamabad High Court on Thursday disqualified Pakistan’s foreign minister Khawaja Asif from parliament for not declaring the details of a foreign work permit, according to sources., according to sources.

The court said that it was not a pleasant duty for any court to asked to exercise its powers of judicial review and dismiss an elected representative. The judges observed that they had handed out the judgement with a “heavy heart not only because a seasoned and accomplished political figure stands disqualified but more so because the dreams and aspirations of 342,125 registered voters have suffered a setback”.

The court, however, said that it would have been appropriate if petitioner



Usman Dar, who belongs to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, had raised the matter in Parliament before petitioning the court.

Asif said he would challenge the decision and claimed he had declared all his assets ever since he joined politics.

In his petition filed last year, Dar alleged that Asif did not declare details of his employment contract with International Mechanical and Electrical Co in the United Arab Emirates, and concealed his salary details in the nomination papers for the 2013 elections. Asif, however, claimed that he had told the Election Commission of Pakistan about the work permit.

Asif defeated Dar in the NA-110 constituency of Sialkot by around 20,000 votes.