ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court accepted an early hearing application in a matter related to the registration of Milli Muslim League as a political party.
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Aamer Farooq conducted application filed by MML President Saifullah Khalid and directed to schedule the hearing in this regard in the first week of December.
Advocate Raja Rizwan Abbasi, the counsel for the petitioner said during the hearing that the Election commission of Pakistan (ECP) is not abiding by the court’s directions.
Therefore, he requested the court to accept early hearing application and fix a date in this connection.
Earlier the high court had sent the issue of MML’s registration to the ECP. Last year in October, the ECP had rejected an application to enlist MML as a political party.
Then the MML challenged the ECP’s decision of not enlisting it as a political party and a single bench of IHC comprising Justice Aamer Farooq had accepted the petition and directed the ECP to take the matter afresh.
The MML through its president Saifullah Khalid had approached the IHC and cited Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Secretary Interior Ministry as respondents in this matter.
The petition adopted in the petition that the ECP issued an order dated October 11 whereby he has been denied to enlist MML as a political party.
He added that the said order of ECP was mala fide without application of independence mind, beyond jurisdiction, non-speaking and evidently inchoate, arbitrary, unreasonable, unfounded and illegal while the same is violative of the Constitution, the Political Parties Order, 2002 and the Political Parties Rules, 2002.
He stated that it was debating since long that none of the political party out of almost 352 enlisted by the ECP fulfils the requirements of a political party in the real sense of the word and represent the people of Pakistan in all the federating units.
“Such political parties instead of promoting harmony, patriotism, ideology of Pakistan, protecting the rights of people of Pakistan promised at the time of creation of Pakistan and enshrined in the Constitution, damaging the identity, ideology of Pakistan, interest of people of Pakistan and doing to protect their personal interests and involved in corruption who had chance to govern the country,” read the petition.
It added that a political party MML was formed in accordance with Article 17 (2) of the Constitution read with Article 3 of PPO, 2002.
However, the petitioner said that it was October 11 when ECP without hearing to the petitioner’s counsel declined to enlist the party (MML) as political party in the record of ECP on the plea that Ministry of Interior has directed to avoid the registration of the party.
He adopted that the said order passed by ECP is liable to set aside and declared as illegal. “That Article 17 (2) of the Constitution confers a fundamental right of every citizen, not being in the service of Pakistan, to form or to be a member of a political party, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan,” he maintained.
Therefore, he prayed to the court that the said order may be set aside and ECP may be directed to scrutinize the documents of the petitioner afresh strictly in accordance with law and enlist the party in its record.He further requested the court to direct secretary interior not to interfere in the affairs of enlisting the MML.