Petition seeking Pak Foreign Minister's disqualification filed in Islamabad High Court

A petition has been filed in theIslamabad High Court seeking disqualification of Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

The petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) activist Moh­ammad Usman Dar on Thursday, sought the disqualification of Asif under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, alleging that the foreign minister did not declare details of his employment contract with a UAE-based company and also concealed the salary details.

Dar, who had lost to Asif in the 2013 general elections by more than 21,000 votes, wants the court to permanently disqualify the foreign minister so that he does not contest elections in the future.

The petition claimed that Asif was working as a special adviser of Mech and Elec Co LLC (IMECL) since 2011 and as per the employment contract his salary was 50,000 UAE dirhams per month, reports the Dawn.

The petition said that Asif did not qualify to remain a member of the National Assembly since he did not declare the salary which he was entitled to draw as his receivable asset while contesting the 2013 general elections from NA-110.

The petition relied upon the recent definition of the Supreme Court regarding receivable salary, on the basis of which it disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Dar had filed the petition in the court now as he learnt about the Iqama (work permit) and salary details of Asif recently.

According to the report, the petition pointed out that the Iqama was renewed on June 29, 2017 and it was valid till June 28, 2019, which established that in spite of being a federal minister, Mr Asif "intends to surreptitiously and secretly continue with his full-time employment with IMECL in violation of his oath of office under the Constitution of Pakistan".