Lahore: An influential group of lawyers
has served a legal notice on Pakistan President Asif Ali
Zardari asking him to surrender the office of co-chairperson
of the ruling PPP as his holding of both the posts is a
violation of the Constitution.
Pakistan Lawyers Forum leader A K Dogar, who is also
the counsel of banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad
Saeed, told reporters here today that Zardari`s decision to
continue as co-chairperson of the Pakistan People`s Party
after being elected as the president was a blatant violation
of Article 41 (1) of the Constitution.
Dogar said the article stated that there "shall be a
President of Pakistan who shall be the head of state and shall
represent the unity of the republic. His position is of a
non-partisan nature".
Zardari is not the head of the government and therefore
represented the unity of the republic, said Dogar, who had
earlier served as the counsel of former premier and PML-N
chief Nawaz Sharif.
The legal notice referred to a 1993 judgement of the
Supreme Court in the case of Nawaz Sharif vs the President of
Pakistan in which the court said: "Now, the President as the
symbol of the unity of the federation is entitled to the
highest respect and esteem by all the functionaries of the
state.
"But it is equally true that this respect and esteem
will be forthcoming if he conducts himself with utmost
impartiality and neutrality, that he keep himself entirely
aloof from party politics and does not give the impression to
anyone that he is siding with one faction or working against
the other".
Dogar said: "the Supreme Court has laid down that the
President is a non-partisan person. So in order to protect and
preserve the dignity of the office, Zardari is required to
maintain a neutral image".
Replying to a question, he said there was "no political
motive" behind the move to serve the legal notice on Zardari.
Bureau Report
