Petition to disqualify Pakistani PM rejected

The petition argued that Sharif has been accused in graft cases and had allegedly received 3.3 million Pakistan rupees from the ISI

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has dismissed a petition seeking disqualification of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for graft.

The petition was dismissed Friday by IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, Dawn online reported.

Petitioner Waheed Kamal had argued before the court that Nawaz Sharif has been accused in graft cases and had allegedly received 3.3 million Pakistan rupees ($32,100) from the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to destabilise the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government during the early 1990s.

The scandal, popularly known as Mehrangate, was a major political scandal during 1990-1994, when senior politicians and political parties were accused of receiving millions of rupees from the ISI.

The petitioner requested the court to disqualify Nawaz Sharif as he was not an honest person.

Justice Siddiqui dismissed the petition after the preliminary hearing, saying it was non-maintainable.