TERENCE J SIGAMONY

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to prepare an affidavit for upcoming election contestants, containing all details which were present in old nomination forms but are missing in new papers.

The short order said: “The affidavit will be deemed as it is given to the Supreme Court and not the returning officer. The omission and commission in the affidavit would be considered giving false statement before the court.”

The candidates who have already submitted nomination papers or those who will file it in upcoming days would have to file the affidavit as well.

Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar said if the contestants provide false information then it will be considered perjury and contempt of court. Whatever information is in the old form of nomination papers be provided by virtue of an affidavit. The specimen affidavit would become part of the court order, the CJP said.

The Chief Justice was heading a five-member larger bench that heard appeals of the speaker National Assembly and the Election Commission of Pakistan against the Lahore High Court (LHC) single judge bench verdict.

LHC Judge Ayesha A Malik on 1st June last ruled that the nomination forms do not include mandatory information and declarations required from lawmakers as per the Constitution and law, and ordered the ECP to ensure this information is included in the revised Form A ? for election to the NA or Senate ? and Form B ? a statement of assets and liabilities. However, the apex court on Sunday last suspended the LHC judgment.

The court directed that the contestants will get the affidavit attested from oath commissioners.

The Chief Justice said the apex court is not going to postpone elections. “This is final from us,” he added.

Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed said that there will be no compromise on the final date (July 25).

Earlier, Advocate Shahid Hamid representing the Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq argued that the single member bench’s decision is in contravention of the law. He said the Speaker has not filed the appeal for his personal advantage but wanted the supremacy of law as the law has been validly passed by the Parliament. He said the Senate elections were held under the Election Act, 2017, but no one objected to it. The Chief Justice remarked those could be examined as well. He said the issue of dual nationality is covered under the Article 63, while the issue that the contestant is not hit by any disqualification is covered under the General Clause Act. The issues related to tax and returns are being dealt in the tax law.

The court repeatedly inquired why the Speaker is shy and not keen to declare his and his dependants’ assets, nationality and education qualification. “What thing does Ayaz Sadiq want to hide?” he asked and added: “We want the veracity and integrity of the representatives.”

Shahid Hamid said the Speaker has filed the appeal as he is the custodian of the House and in this case he is not representing his party. He is also contesting election, he added.

The Chief Justice asked Shahid that his client’s party has no objection on restoration of old nomination form. The CJP remarked that PML-N Qauid Nawaz Sharif has made it clear that they have no issue if information is sought about the candidate’s assets and liabilities.

Shahid Hamid contended that the information in the old form is already provided in other laws therefore it will be duplicated and superfluous. The Chief Justice said: “We want that neat and clean people should come to the Parliament. We (SC) and the voters want information about the representatives.”

Ibrahim Satti, appearing on behalf of Election Commission of Pakistan, told the bench that throughout the proceedings before Lahore High Court, it had been their stance that the candidates should provide information about them.

The Chief Justice noted that the returning officer will scrutinize the nomination papers on the basis of the information given in affidavits. The Chief Justice said that the ECP may extend one day for scrutiny.

The Chief Justice also hinted that they may also pass an order in a separate hearing about the amount of money that could be spent on election campaign.

The court said the vires of law will be examined later and questioned why no intra-court appeal was filed before the LHC against the single judge bench instead of approaching the Supreme Court.