Lahore:
An influential group of lawyers has served a legal notice on Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari asking him to surrender the office of co-chairperson of the ruling PPP as his holding of both the posts is a violation of the Constitution.
Pakistan Lawyers Forum leader A K Dogar, who is also the counsel of banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, told reporters in Lahore on Saturday that Zardari's decision to continue as co-chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party after being elected as the president was a blatant violation of Article 41 (1) of the Constitution.
Dogar said the article stated that there "shall be a President of Pakistan who shall be the head of state and shall represent the unity of the republic. His position is of a non-partisan nature".
Zardari is not the head of the government and therefore represented the unity of the republic, said Dogar, who had earlier served as the counsel of former premier and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.
The legal notice referred to a 1993 judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of Nawaz Sharif vs the President of Pakistan in which the court said: "Now, the President as the symbol of the unity of the federation is entitled to the highest respect and esteem by all the functionaries of the state.
Pakistan Lawyers Forum leader A K Dogar, who is also the counsel of banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, told reporters in Lahore on Saturday that Zardari's decision to continue as co-chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party after being elected as the president was a blatant violation of Article 41 (1) of the Constitution.
Dogar said the article stated that there "shall be a President of Pakistan who shall be the head of state and shall represent the unity of the republic. His position is of a non-partisan nature".
Zardari is not the head of the government and therefore represented the unity of the republic, said Dogar, who had earlier served as the counsel of former premier and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.
The legal notice referred to a 1993 judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of Nawaz Sharif vs the President of Pakistan in which the court said: "Now, the President as the symbol of the unity of the federation is entitled to the highest respect and esteem by all the functionaries of the state.
