The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court has disqualified Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, from his position due to contempt of court. This development is a major setback for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The decision was made after Ilyas was summoned to the supreme court and high court of AJK for using a threatening tone in one of his speeches. The court has also declared Ilyas ineligible for holding any public office and ordered AJK’s Chief Election Commissioner to conduct polls for a new prime minister.
During the hearing, the court played clips featuring the prime minister, and Ilyas gave an unconditional apology, stating that he was sorry if any of his words had hurt the judge. The AJK premier was sentenced to the rising of the court.
The AJK High Court had summoned Ilyas due to a contempt notice taken on his speech at a public meeting. The high court registrar had issued a notice to the AJK prime minister to appear in person before the court and explain his position and the matter was fixed before the full bench.
In a separate statement, Fawad Chaudhry, the PTI Senior Vice President, emphasized the importance of respecting court decisions and stated that the country cannot function if the judicial system is destroyed. He also suggested that the AJK prime minister should apologize to the court and hoped that the Supreme Court would grant him relief.
