Former finance minister and senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar on Saturday filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC), in which he prayed to the court to order his oath-taking as a senator via a video-link, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.  

Dar made the federal government, Senate chairman and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as respondents in the case. 

In his petition, former finance minister, currently residing in London along with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, said that he could not take oath of his office earlier since his election as a senator was challenged and he got busy in defending himself. “The Supreme Court had, on December 21, 2021, rejected the appeal challenging my election as a senator,” Dar said, adding and it was on January 10, 2022 that the ECP had notified him as a senator. “Since, I am currently living in London where I am receiving medical treatment, it is not possible for me to come to Pakistan for the oath-taking,” read the petition. 

Former finance minister further said that under the constitution the Senate chairman had the power to appoint a person who could administer the oath to him. “I wrote to the Senate chairman for my oath-taking via a video link. But he rejected it without any rhyme and reason,” said the senator-elect, and added, “A noteworthy point here is that there are instances of parliamentary sessions being held via a video link in these times of the coronavirus.”

Dar regretted that the PTI government even amended the Election Act through a presidential ordinance in order to block his ascent to the Senate. “And now even that ordinance has been challenged in the court,” he said, and prayed to the court to bar the authorities from applying the ordinance to him since under it a lawmaker had been made bound to take oath of his office within a stipulated time period. “Please declare the Senate chairman’s decision of not administering the oath to the senators via a video link as null and void, and order him (the chairman) to appoint Pakistan High Commission’s official in London for administering the oath to me,” Dar requested.      

He also prayed to the court to stop the ECP from withdrawing the notification of his election as senator. 

Reporter Malik Ashraf