Amid prevailing political crises in Pakistan, the High Court of the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), in an important decision, disqualified the so-called Prime Minister of PoJK Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan from his position.
The High Court of PoJK on Tuesday disqualified Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan from his position as a member of the legislative assembly and as Prime Minister on contempt of court charges.
According to reports in Pakistani newspapers, on Monday Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan was served notice to explain his position before the court for his alleged derogatory remarks against the judiciary in public meetings. The so-called Prime Minister of PoJK was asked to appear before the High Court and Supreme Court today.
PoJK PM accused judiciary of intervening in the working of his government
Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan had accused the judiciary of affecting the workings of his government and intervening in the domain of the executive through stay orders.
According to reports in Pakistani newspapers Ilyas Khan, during a function in Islamabad over the weekend, had indirectly blamed the judiciary for affecting the functioning of his government and interfering in the domain of the executive through the grant of stay orders.
The full court bench of the AJK HighCourt has sentenced @SardarTanveerIK under charges of contempt of court. He stands disqualified from being the member of the Legislative Assembly & subsequently ceases to be the prime minister. The court didn’t accept his unconditional apology
— Tariq Naqash (@TariqNaqash) April 11, 2023
He had particularly referred to millions dollars Saudi-funded projects in the eduction sector. He alleged that these projects had been in limbo because the court had issued a stay order on them. Similarly, he had also taken strong exception to the "de-sealing by the courts of tobacco factories involved in tax evasion to the tune of billions of rupees".
Court rejects unconditional apology of PoJK PM
The full bench of the PoJK high court pronounced the verdict, convicted him for statements against the court, and sentenced him.
It maintained that the court took notice of Ilyas's anti-judiciary statements and does not accept his apology.
According to the Pakistan newspaper Dawn, during today's hearing, the court played three video clips of Ilyas, including one of his speech on Saturday, and asked him if he was contesting the charges.
Ilyas replied in the negative and tendered an unconditional apology to the court. "I place myself at the mercy of the court," he stated.
However, Justice Khalid Rasheed questioned what guarantee there was that Ilyas would not resort to doing the same in the future.
The court subsequently rejected the PoJK Prime Minister's apology. Justice Rasheed read out the judgment, sentencing the Ilyas till the rising of the court.
Tanveer Ilyas is affiliated with Imran Khan's PTI
With Ilyas's disqualification, the entire cabinet of the PoJK now stands dissolved.
According to Express Tribune, the move comes amid heightened political tensions across Pakistan due to the crisis relating to elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after assemblies in both provinces were dissolved.
Ilyas, affiliated with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), served as premier of PoJK for less than a year. He was elected unopposed as the 14th prime minister of the region on April 18, 2022.
After the resignation of Abdul Qayyum Khan Niazi as PoJK premier, Illyas had submitted nomination papers on behalf of PTI which were declared valid by the secretary assembly.
