PAT files petition seeking PM Sharif's disqualification

The Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) today filed a petition with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seeking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's disqualification for concealment of assets.

PAT Lawyer Wing's Ashfaq Ahmad Chaudhry in the petition asked the ECP to "disqualify the respondent for the membership of Parliament due to his willful concealments and omissions as well as mis-declarations in violation of Sections 12, 42-A, 82 and 99 of the Representation of Peoples Act 1976 and Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution".

The petition states that Prime Minister Sharif did not disclose his children's assets when he filed his assets and tax returns and also said the PM's loyalties to the nation are in question as per Article 5, reports the Dawn.

Chaudhry in his petition also included the First Information Report (FIR) of the Model Town incident in which 14 people were killed and over 100 others injured.

Earlier, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had also filed petitions with the ECP seeking the Prime Minister's disqualification for concealing his family's assets.

The petitions follow the failure of the parliamentary committee on Panama Papers to prepare terms of reference for a proposed judicial commission that would hold investigations against the hundreds of Pakistanis, including Prime Minister Sharif's family members, whose names had appeared in the list of those who own offshore companies.