Hearing of Nawaz election case adjourned

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday adjourned the hearing of a petition against the disqualification of former premier and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif from standing in a parliamentary by-election.

Earlier, the three-member bench headed by Justice Moosa K. Laghari heard the arguments raised by the other side over the candidature of Nawaz Sharif for by-election.

The bench asked the Federation’s lawyers, the petitioner of the case, to file their concise statement by examining the objections raised before the court and adjourned the hearing of the case for two weeks.

Nawaz Sharif has already said he will ignore an order to appear in court because he does not accept the legitimacy of the judges, who were appointed by President Pervez Musharraf during a state of emergency last November.

The government filed an appeal on Sharif’s behalf last week after Lahore High Court barred him from contesting last Thursday’s scheduled poll in Lahore because of previous criminal convictions relating to events surrounding the coup.

The Supreme Court ordered the vote to be delayed in Sharif’s constituency.

But it also ordered Sharif, who has been campaigning for the reinstatement of dozens of judges sacked by Musharraf last year, to turn up at court, saying it was difficult to deal with the case in his absence.

His lawyers and Pakistan Muslim League-N party (PML-N) have both said that he will not appear before the judges.

It was not clear how the court would react if Sharif defies the order.

The dispute over Sharif’s candidacy has added to the sense of paralysis surrounding the coalition, which defeated allies of the US-backed Musharraf in elections in February and came to power in the following month.