The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday threw out a petition filed against former finance minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar’s notification as member of the Senate due to non-perusal of the case, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

A three-member bench of the apex court, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heard the case.

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Aamir Rehman told the court that the ‘stay’ granted by the court to stop the issuance of notification of Dar’s membership of the Senate had already expired, and that according to a presidential ordinance, the seat of a member of the parliament not taking oath of his office within 60 days of his election will be deemed to have fallen vacant. “And since notification has not been issued as yet, therefore, the law does not apply to the case of former finance minister,” the AAG argued. 

Justice Ijazul Ahsan remarked that Nawazish Pirzada, the petitioner, had not showed up in the court on the last date of hearing. “And despite the fact that Dar was summoned by the court, he did not appear even once,” he added.

Counsel for the PML-N leader, currently residing in London, told the court that his client was in London for his medical treatment.  

Reporter Amanat Gishkori