ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) on Thursday filed a reference with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), seeking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification for allegedly misstating and hiding details of his and his family’s assets in his tax returns and nomination papers.

In the reference, PAT of Allama Dr Muhammad Tahirul Qadri contended that the loyalty of the prime minister to the state of Pakistan was also under a cloud therefore, he must be disqualified.

The ECP is virtually dysfunctional ever since the retirement of its four members on June 12 after completion of their five-year term, and these vacant posts are yet to be filled. Apparently, there is no immediate sign of consultations in the government and opposition ranks to mull over names of ‘probables’ for the slots in ECP.

The dates are being given to the petitioners in anticipation that their (EC members’) replacements will be made by or before July 18. Under law, the offices of Chief Election Commissioner or/and any of the other four members should be filled within 45 days of the retirement of the incumbent/s.

As per the amended rules of the game, in future two members will be retiring after two and a half years and hence, the electoral body will remain operational. This new approach has been devised to avoid in future the crisis-like situation presently besetting the ECP.

According to sub-section 2 of Article 63 of the Constitution, any reference seeking disqualification of a legislator should come through the office of Speaker. Once filed, a speaker has 30 days to decide whether the petition requires further actionthrough the Election Commission or should be discarded. If the speaker fails to act on the petition within 30 days, it is deemed to have been referred to the electoral body.

PAT’s lawyers wing leader Ishtiaq Ahmad Chaudhry appeared at the Election Commission Secretariat here and filed the reference. He told media that they had maintained that the prime minister had concealed the assets, owned by his children.

“Under the Representation of the People Act, 1976, the Prime Minister stands disqualified. Therefore, the Election Commission may notify him as such,” he emphasised. It was also contended in the reference that under Article 5 of the Constitution, the loyalty of the Prime Minister was also doubtful.

He pointed out that the Panama Leaks had also revealed that Prime Minister’s family had off-shore assets, which were mandatory to be mentioned in the statement of assets under the Representation of People Act but this was not done.

PAT representative argued that financial corruption and concealment of assets proved that the prime minister was not honest and truthful in his conduct.

Ishtiaq Chaudhry maintained that PAT’s reference was a test case for the Election Commission. A copy of the FIR on the Model Town tragedy has also been attached with the reference. Already, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan People’s Party have submitted disqualification references to the Election Commission against the prime minister.