AJK SC turns down Sardar Tanveer Ilyas' plea to stay disqualification

MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court turned down Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI ) leader Sardar Tanveer Ilyas' plea on Thursday, through which he sought a stay on the AJK High Court's order disqualifying him as the region's prime minister.

In a major blow to the PTI, the AJK High Court had removed Ilyas from the post of prime minister on Tuesday, making him the region's first premier to be disqualified in a contempt of court case. 

Following the disqualification, the politician moved AJK's top court against the high court's decision. A full bench, headed by AJK Supreme Court Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram, and comprising Justice Raza Ali Khan and Justice Khawaja Muhammad Nasim, heard the case. 

The deposed prime minister filed a miscellaneous plea today in which he asked the court to stay the implementation of the AJK High Court's order to disqualify him. 

During the hearing, the AJK chief justice remarked that "the former prime minister did not apologise. He [only] said he apologises if there was any contempt of court."

The PTI official did not "respect" the parliament or the prime minister's office, the judge observed. "The former prime minister says that he will remove judges whereas he can't even expel a peon without following the official procedure."

Ilyas' counsel, Advocate Raziq Khan, said his client had not been given the opportunity to clarify his statements. At this, Justice Akram observed that Ilyas had accepted all his comments when they were played on multimedia. "He accepted his contemptuous words in front of the court. When a person acknowledges that the words are his and they are contemptuous, what option does the court have left?" he questioned. 

Subsequently, the court rejected Ilyas' plea to stay the high court's order. It will continue to hear his appeal against the disqualification decision.