Petition challenging acceptance of Buzdar’s resignation taken back after LHC’s reprimand

LHC inquires locus standi of petitioner, says petition equivalent to insulting court

The Lahore High Court on Thursday rejected a petition that challenged the acceptance of former Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar’s resignation by ex-governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar after the chief justice criticized the petitioner for having no locus standi in the case.

Local media reported that a petition was filed by Advocate Nadeem Sarwar. He had challenged that Sarwar had accepted Buzdar’s resignation despite the fact that it was addressed to former PM Imran Khan, which violated Article 130(8) of the Constitution. The Article states: “The chief minister may, by writing under his hand addressed to the governor, resign from his office.”

The petition requested that the court declare Sarwar’s acceptance of Buzdar’s resignation as unlawful. It also asked the court to bar Hamza from taking charge as the chief minister till a decision was made on the petition.

Hearing the plea today, LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Amir Bhatti inquired what the petitioner’s connection with the case was. Advocate Sarwar replied that it was necessary for the resignation to be handwritten.

The chief justice expressed his reservations, saying the petition was equivalent to making a joke out of the court. “Is this a democratic system? … The whole of Pakistan is in turmoil … no one has patience,” he said.

The LHC chief justice announced that he was dismissing the petition with a fine of Rs1 million. At this, the petitioner urged the Justice Bhatti to allow him to withdraw his plea. The court then dismissed the petition as withdrawn without the imposition of a fine.