ISLAMABAD- Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid (PML-Q) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain today requested for the formation of a larger bench of the Supreme Court to hear Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ongoing disqualification case.
Shujaat's petition in the apex court comes against the backdrop of an earlier hearing when the SC had asked petitioners to formally file a request in this regard. Earlier on Monday, a three-member bench, headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja had rejected the plea for the formation of a larger bench relating to PM Nawaz's disqualification, citing that only Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk possesses the authority to form a larger bench and therefore a separate petition should be filed.
The petitioners had requested the court to disqualify Prime Minister Sharif under Article 62 (f) of the Constitution, claiming he gave a false statement in the joint sitting of the Parliament over the role of the army in negotiations with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) to end their prevailing sit-ins in Islamabad. The hearing had been subsequently adjourned until October 2.