Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas was disqualified from serving in the legislative assembly on Tuesday by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court’s full court bench for contempt.
Ilyas is no longer the prime minister of the AJK as a result of today’s decision, and the legislative assembly must choose a new leader. He is permitted to challenge the judgment before the AJK Supreme Court. Ilyas received separate notices from the AJK superior courts on Monday asking him to respond to allegations that he made “derogatory remarks about the superior judiciary in his speeches at public meetings.” Ilyas was requested in the notices to make separate appearances before the Supreme Court and the High Court.
At a function in Islamabad over the weekend, Ilyas had indirectly blamed the judiciary for affecting the functioning of his government and interfering in the domain of the executive through the grant of stay orders.
He had particularly referred to a $15 million Saudi-funded education sector project, saying it had been in a limbo because the court had issued a stay order on it. Similarly, he had also taken strong exception to the “de-sealing by the courts of tobacco factories involved in tax evasion to the tune of billions of rupees”.
During today’s hearing, the court played three video clips of Ilyas, including one of his speech on Saturday, and asked him if he was contesting the charges.
Ilyas replied in the negative and tendered an unconditional apology to the court. “I place myself at the mercy of the court,” he stated.
However, Justice Khalid Rasheed questioned what guarantee there was that Ilyas would not resort to doing the same in the future.
The court subsequently rejected the AJK premier’s apology. Justice Rasheed read out the judgement, sentencing the AJK premier till the rising of the court.
The written order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, said that the court was made aware through social media that Ilyas was “continuously using derogatory statements against the superior judiciary”.
It said that the registrar also presented a newspaper clip pertaining to a speech made by him, following which the Council of Judges decided to issue a notice to him on April 10.
“On the same day, [Ilyas] against used derogatory and indecent statement[s] [in] Islamabad against the superior judiciary and also discussed the matter sub judice before this court,” the order said.
It stated that Ilyas had appeared before the court today and admitted to the contents of the newspaper clippings. “Prima facie, in his statement, contemptuous wording has been used which is against the prestige and independence of [the] judiciary,” it said.
The order said that Ilyas had admitted to the remarks and also refrained from submitting “any other objection or reply” in response to the notice issued. Therefore, “it can be safely held that his said act comes within the ambit of contempt of court under Article 45 of the AJK interim Constitution, 1974.”
The order stated that it had “no cavil to declare that [the] contemnor is guilty of committing contempt of this court”.
“Although, the contemnor is not entitled to get any relief as he continuously scandalised the prestige of higher judiciary at public places but as the contemnor has tendered [an] unconditional apology before the court, hence, we hereby opt a lenient view and punish him till rising of the court under Article 45 of the AJK interim Constitution, 1974.”
The order said that since Ilyas had been “punished by the court”, he stood disqualified from being elected, from being a member of the legislative assembly and from holding any public office for two years.
After the verdict was announced, Ilyas then went to the AJK SC where he again tendered an apology for his remarks. The SC adjourned the hearing for two weeks.
Commenting on the development, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that whether it was the prime minister of Pakistan or AJK, respecting the decision of the courts was necessary.
“This country cannot be run by destroying the judicial system,” he said, urging Ilyas to apologise and expressing the hope that he would be given relief by the SC. Fawad further stated that the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should learn a lesson from the court’s decision.
