Pakistani court disqualifies foreign minister for hiding assets

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court disqualified the country's Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Thursday for life for holding a work permit in the United Arab Emirates and hiding his income, local media reported.

According to the reports, a three-member bench of judges, including Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, announced the verdict which disqualified Asif for life from holding any public office.

The court said Asif had been proven dishonest under the country's constitution because he did not fulfill constitutional requirements which binds a public office holder to disclose all assets and sources of income.

The court has also ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan to issue a notification of Asif's disqualification as member of the parliament. Following the commission's notification, Asif will no longer be a member of the parliament and the foreign minister.

The bench had reserved the verdict on April 10 on a petition filed by Usman Dar, a member of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), or Pakistan Justice Movement in English. Dar, who lost elections to Asif in 2013, filed the petition last year, seeking the disqualification of Asif.

The petition said Asif was entitled to draw a salary which was his receivable asset. However, since he did not declare it in the nomination papers while contesting the 2013 general elections, he is not eligible to be elected as a member of the National Assembly, the lower house of the country's parliament.

The petitioner further pointed out that Asif's work permit was renewed on June 29, 2017, and is valid till June 28, 2019, which is a sheer violation of his oath taken as the member of the parliament.

Asif rejected the allegations and said the petitioner had concealed from the court that the issue related to the work permit had been adjudicated by the Election Tribunal because he had already presented all required documents before the court.

Asif's disqualification is the third verdict of this kind by the Pakistani courts in a period less than one year.

Last year, the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for life in a corruption case.

Earlier this year, the country's apex court also disqualified Jahangir Tareen, a leader of PTI, for hiding his assets present abroad.

In response to the decision, Asif announced that he has started consultation with his legal advisors to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

Asif, the stalwart of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, has won all the five elections he contested for the lower house from 1993 to 2013.