Mirpur - The High Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Monday disqualified AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Sardar Ghulam Sadiq to contest elections of the assembly scheduled for July 21.
A division bench comprising Justice M Tabasam Aftaab Alvi and Justice Azhar Saleem Babar ordered the Chief Election Commissioner to delete Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Ghulam Sadiq's name from the list of validly nominated candidates of the same constituency.
Speaker Sadiq’s opponent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate Sardar Khan Bhadar Khan had challenged his candidature before Returning Officer but his plea was rejected and he then appealed against the RO judgment which was also rejected by the Chief Election Commissioner. Bhadar then moved the High Court through his counsel Rahat Farooq praying the court to disqualify Sadiq’s candidacy claiming that his honesty was under question.
The judgment of the learned bench said the respondent Ghulam Sadiq had drawn dual salaries in the capacity of Member Assembly and as Adviser to Chairman Kashmir Council, one of which he returned yet he violated the clause (f) of sub section (2) of section 4 of interim Constitution Act 1974. The order further said that under section 5 (1) of ordinance 1970, a person would not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a Member of Legislative Assembly unless he is sagacious, righteous, non-profligate , "Sadiq and Ameen" and since the respondent did not possess these qualities under the circumstance and at the time of filling of nomination papers, he was not eligible to contest election.