Pakistan court throws out petitions seeking to oust PM Nawaz Sharif

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed three petitions seeking the ouster of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for allegedly lying in parliament.

Opposition politicians including Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid (PML-Q) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Ishaq Khakwani and advocate Gauhar Nawaz had filed separate petitions against Sharif. They alleged that Sharif lied on the floor of the National Assembly when he denied seeking support of the army for resolving issues with PTI chief Imran Khan and cleric Tahirul Qadri, pointing to the army spokesman's tweet that said the government had asked army chief General Raheel Sharif to facilitate ending the political crisis.

Khan and Qadri had launched a protest campaign demanding Sharif's ouster in August. Khan had alleged that the 2013 general election that his party lost was rigged in Sharif's favour. A seven-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, heard the case.

The court observed that the statement of the premier was not formally denied and military spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa had not explicitly mentioned the premier's name in his tweet. It refused to order trial of Sharif under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution which deal with qualification and disqualification of lawmakers.

It said that the issues had to be forwarded to Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and then to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), adding that the court was not the right body to be approached on this. The bench ordered the dismissal of all three petitions.