ECP reinstates Ishaq Dar's Senate membership

Islamabad: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday reinstated former finance minister and PML-N leader Ishaq Dar’s Senate membership.

A notification by the ECP has also been issued in this regard. The election commission reinstated the membership of the PML-N leader on Supreme Court’s orders.

On December, 2021, the Supreme Court (SC) had turned down a plea from Ishaq Dar against his disqualification over his absence from court proceedings. 

It is pertinent to mention here that the dismissal of Ishaq Dar’s plea will nullify a stay order obtained from him against a notification for his Senate membership, which requires him to take oath within two months or else his seat would be vacated.

During the hearing, the assistant attorney general (AAG) said that under an ordinance promulgated by the President, a Senate’s seat would be declared vacated after a lawmaker did not take oath within two months of being notified as the member of the Upper House of the Parliament.

“This rule will not apply to him because his client has yet to be notified.” 

The top court questioned that why the applicant has not appeared before court as he had also skipped his previous hearing. To this, his counsel informed that he is ill and currently getting medical treatment abroad.

While hearing arguments from both sides, the apex court dismissed the plea.

Ishaq Dar was elected as a senator on a technocrat seat from Punjab in 2018. He could not take oath due to his stay in London. However, the SC suspended his membership over his failure to appear in court on May 8, 2018.

In June 2018, the ECP had suspended the notification of former finance minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar’s success in Senate election 2018.