THE Question Of Zardari Being A Good Muslim Will Have To Be Settled, One Way Or Another, Islam and Politics, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and Politics

THE Question Of Zardari Being A Good Muslim Will Have To Be Settled, One Way Or Another

By Najam Sethi

THE CONFLICT between the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the government of President Asif Zardari is gathering momentum. Skirmishes have broken out on several fronts. And a make or break showdown is round the corner, unless the SC steps back — which may be desirable — or Mr Zardari throws in the towel — which is unlikely.

Maulvi Iqbal Haider, a maverick lawyer whose reputation as a puppeton- strings precedes him, has filed a petition with the Chief Election Commissioner ( CEC) asking him to reexamine President Asif Zardari’s qualifications to be a member of parliament in light of the National Reconciliation Ordinance ( NRO) judgment. The petition asks the CEC to investigate whether Mr Zardari was ever convicted under any circumstances at home or abroad or fulfils the constitutional requirement of being of sound mind or a good Muslim. Should Mr Zardari be guilty of either sin, he can be disqualified from being a member of parliament and his nomination as president of Pakistan can be held to be null and void.

The facts are slightly murky. The National Accountability Bureau ( NAB), which filed the cases of corruption against Mr Zardari during the regimes of Nawaz Sharif and Pervez Musharraf, says he was never convicted, in absentia or otherwise. The President’s spokesman insists likewise. But a section of the media and the bar reports otherwise. So we shall have to wait for the CEC to determine the facts of a case — avoiding 5 per cent import duty on an imported BMW car — that goes back to 2005. If the fact is that he was never convicted, he will be off the hook on this front.

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