Muzaffarabad: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court on Wednesday returned Sardar Tanveer Ilyas’s petition challenging his disqualification by the high court.
A day earlier, a full court bench of the AJK High Court disqualified Ilyas, who belongs to the PTI, from being elected or being a member of the Legislative Assembly or from holding any public office for two years after holding him guilty of contempt.
At a function in Islamabad during the weekend, Ilyas had indirectly accused the judiciary of affecting his government’s functioning and interfering in the domain of the executive through the grant of stay orders.
Both the AJK SC and high court had then issued notices to the ex-prime minister on Monday to explain his position with regard to his comments about the superior judiciary.
During the hearing yesterday, Ilyas apologised to both the superior AJK courts; however, the high court rejected his apology and held him guilty of contempt of court.
Subsequently, Ilyas’ legal team today filed a petition in the AJK SC against his conviction.
However, the appeal was rejected by SC Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram rejected who termed it “incompetently worded”. He noted that the appeal mentioned Ilyas as the premier even though the high court’s order still held ground.
The judge allowed Ilyas’ laywers to file a fresh plea in court.
Khawaja Farooq Ahmed appointed caretaker PM
Meanwhile, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry today appointed Senior Minister Khawaja Farooq Ahmed as acting Prime Minister of AJK.
Khawaja Farooq Ahmed will serve under Article 17-1 till the election of the new prime minister.
President Sultan made the appointment after consulting constitutional experts. The AJK president signed the summary related to the appointment of the acting prime minister.
The ongoing session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will be held on April 13 to elect the new premier. The AJK Legislative Assembly speaker will issue the schedule for the election of the new prime minister.
