Pak court refers PM's disqualification case to Chief Justice

Pakistan Supreme Court today referred Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's disqualification case to the Chief Justice, saying only he has the constitutional mandate to make a decision on the case.
The three-member bench, while hearing three identical petitions seeking the premier's disqualification at the Supreme Court's Quetta registry, observed that only the Chief Justice has the constitutional mandate to decide on the disqualification case against the Prime Minister.
The bench, headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, said petitions seeking the premier's disqualification had raised important constitutional questions over which the court's verdict was necessary, the Dawn reported.
The order further said that interpretation of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution was essential to decide on the case.

The order recommended the apex court to appoint senior lawyers as assistants and requested that all the petitions questioning the legality of the parliamentarians' membership be clubbed together.
The bench asked the Chief Justice to form another bench and set a date for the hearing.