by Qaiser Felix

The Pakistan Christian National Party wants Art 42 of the constitution dropped because it sets the Office of the President aside for Muslims alone. Should its request me turned down, it plans to take the case to an international court.

Lahore (AsiaNews) – The Pakistan Christian National Party (PCNP) has decided to petition the Supreme Court in order to challenge Article 41(2) of the country’s 1973 Constitution which reserves the Office of the President to Muslims, PCNP President Joseph Francis said at a press conference in Lahore on Sunday.

The PCNP’s legal team filed its petition last Saturday on the grounds that the article in question is incompatible with articles 25 and 36 of the same constitution “which entitle all citizens equal rights, status and protection of law as well as ensure their due representation in the federal and provincial services.”

For Francis, article 41(2) contravenes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and go against the ideas of the Father of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

In the event that the court rejects the request, “we would move to the International Court of Justice against this injustice,” PCNP Deputy President Aneeqa Maria Akhtar told AsiaNews.

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• constitution
• article
• 41(2)
• pakistan
• christian
• national
• party
• pcnp
• supreme
• court
• office
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• the
• president