Legal experts believe that legal options are available before the Election Commission of Pakistan to disqualify the prime minister and members of his family if it really wanted to decide the petitions filed by the PPP and the PTI.
The Nation talked to senior jurists who opined that the election body could take action against those who conceal their assets under different sections of Representation of the People Act, 1976.
According to former Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan, Mr Kanwar Dilshad, the ECP can ask the FBR or any other investigation agency to probe the allegations. In this connection, he cited article- 221 of the Constitution, according to which, all state institutions are bound to cooperate with the Election Commission in discharge of its duties.
And if the allegations are proved as true against the accused, then the ECP could send its recommendations to the Speaker National Assembly with directions to send a reference against the offenders, he added.
Dilshad further stated that the Commission also had the powers under section 82 and 94 of the Representation of People Act to start criminal procedure against the accused by sending the case to the concerned District & Session Judge who could award three years punishment to the offender.
Section 42-A of the said law deals with yearly submission of statements of assets and liabilities while sections, 82 and 94 deal with the punishment for those MNAs whose statement of assets and liabilities are found to be false in material particulars.
Section-82 reads: “Any person guilty of corrupt practice shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both.”
It is also mentioned in the said Act that the offences of corrupt practice shall be tried by the Sessions Judge and an appeal against his order shall lie before a Division Bench of the High Court.
A senior ECP official who sought anonymity said that if the election body did not want to take any action on the two petitions, it could simply ask the petitioners to approach the Speaker National Assembly taking the plea that under the Constitution only the Speaker could send a disqualification reference against an MNA to the ECP.
Noted lawyer and senior PPP leader Sardar Latif Khan Khosa who has filed a disqualification reference against the prime minister and his family member insisted that the ECP had the powers to proceed against the accused in the light of evidence submitted to it regarding concealment of their assets.
His attention was drawn to the relevant clause of the Constitution which empowers only the Speaker National Assembly to send a disqualification reference against a member to the Election Commission.
“It is the basic jurisdiction of the ECP to ensure that the statements of assets submitted by the parliamentarians are based on facts”, he maintained, adding, “Jurisdiction of the courts comes after the ECP in this matter.”
Senior jurist SM Zafar viewed that the ECP had also the option to seek a fresh oath from the accused in the light of the Panama Papers. “And if they deny the charge, the burden of proof would lie on them”. Zafar viewed that the ECP could take up the matter of concealment of assets at this stage also since the evidence (Panama Papers) was not available at the time of filing of nomination papers.
Eminent lawyer Khalid Ranjha said the ECP had the powers to take up the issue of concealment of assets at any stage if a petition is filed against any parliamentarian in this regard. “The ECP is fully empowered to take up and decide such cases at any stage”, he said while referring to different sections of the relevant law.
The Nation Newspaper
Source: http://nation.com.pk/national/28-Jun-2016/ecp-has-enough-powers-to-disqu...
