SHC issues notices to AG, others on plea against deputy PM’s appointment

The Sindh High Court on Thursday issued pre-admission notices to the attorney general of Pakistan, the federal government and others on a petition against the appointment of Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister of the country.

Petitioner Tariq Mansoor advocate submitted that the prime minister has been categorically mentioned as head of the federal government, and there has been not a single provision or article wherein the word, designation or title of the impugned deputy prime minister is mentioned.

He said that in the federal government’s rules of business so framed as are mandated under articles 90 and 99 of the Constitution, there has been categorically mentioned in its Rule 2 (iv) that cabinet means and consists of prime minster and the federal ministers only.

He said that Article 250 of the Constitution which relates to the salaries, allowances etc. of the ministers and others, and there is no mention of the office or post of the deputy PM. The counsel submitted that there was no mention of post of deputy PM under the scheme of the constitution and the PM has no authority to create such post or to designate any person as deputy PM.

To a court query about the maintainability of the petition in view of immunity provided to the prime minister under Article 248 of the constitution, the petitioner submitted that since the impugned notification was unconstitutional and had been issued without lawful authority, the immunity/protection provided to the PM under the constitution was not attracted.

He said the Supreme Court also held that immunity provided in Article 248 cannot extend to illegal or unconstitutional acts and PM was bound to obey the constitution and the law. He said that it has been held under Article 91 that cabinet is a composite concept and its components were the PM and the federal ministers; therefore, the deputy PM cannot be part of the cabinet.

The court was requested to declare the notification of federal government and the appointment of foreign minister as deputy prime minister as unconstitutional and to direct the government to not bypass the constitutional commandments or arbitrarily exercise its power but only within the constitutional boundaries.

A high court division bench headed by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, after the preliminary hearing of the petition, issued pre-admission notices to the attorney general of Pakistan, the federal government and others and called their comments on May 30.