Of Art 62-63: So what really does 'Saadiq' and 'Amin' mean?
Article 62 and 63 decide who is 'Saadiq' and 'Amin' enough to be a parliamentarian.
(Web Desk) - The wait for the nation is over and the Supreme Court’s verdict on the controversial Panama Papers case has finally come.
In April last year, the Panama Leaks case revealed that Nawaz Sharif and his family own assets abroad in the form of off-shore companies. The Sharif family was accused of corruption and criticised for concealing wealth abroad however, the family denied the allegations made against them.
The five-judge larger bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan announced the decision of the case today and disqualified Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister today due to his connection to the Panama Papers case under Article 62 .The bench also directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to issue his disqualification notification.
The Panama case had stirred havoc in the country, even challenging political stability. The larger effects of today’s decision still remain unclear and will likely be revealed over time.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) disqualification clause of the constitution, any individual who does not fit the characteristics under Article 62 and 63, is not fit to be a member of the parliament. Article 62 and 63 decide who is ‘Saadiq’ and ‘Amin’ enough to be a parliamentarian. The Panama controversy had brought both the much debated articles of the Constitution to the light once again.
According to Article 62, a person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) unless-
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He is a citizen of Pakistan;
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The person must be of good character and is not commonly known as one who violates Islamic Injunctions;
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He has adequate knowledge of Islamic teachings and practises obligatory duties prescribed by Islam as well as abstains from major sins ;
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He is sagacious, righteous and non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law
According to Article 63, a person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), if:-
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He is of unsound mind and has been so declared by a competent court; or
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He is an undischarged insolvent; or
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He has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction for propagating any opinion, or acting in any manner, prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan, or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan, or morality, or the maintenance of public order, or the integrity or independence of the judiciary of Pakistan, or which defames or brings into ridicule the judiciary or the Armed Forces of Pakistan, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release
