Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court on Thursday disqualified Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif as the member of parliament for holding an UAE visa, thereby, giving yet another jolt to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N).
According to Dawn, Pakistan’s leading English daily, the disqualification took place following a petition filed by Usman Dar, a member of the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.
During the 2013 elections, Khawaja Asif was found to be not disclosing in nomination papers about his possessing a UAE visa. This was what made Usman Dar, who had lost the 2013 elections from the NA-110 constituency, to file a petition against Khawaja Asif who was working with Mech and Elec Co LLC (IMECL), a UAE-based company as a special adviser since 2011 for a salary of 50,000 UAE dirhams per month.
After PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification as the Prime Minister in the Panama Papers case, Khawaja Asif’s disqualification is a major political jolt to the ruling party of Pakistan in the recent past.
