Pakistan High Courts updates

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PHC orders handover of assets to tehsil govts in 10 days​

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to notify within 10 days the assumption of offices by the chairmen and members of local councils and handing over of the assets of former district governments to the new tehsil ones.

A bench consisting of Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Syed M Attique Shah issued the directions while disposing of a petition filed by Mardan city mayor Himayatullah Mayar for the provision of multiple reliefs.

The main prayer of the petitioner was the issuance of orders for the provincial government and Election Commission of Pakistan to administer oath to the tehsil council chairmen and members elected during the first phase of local body elections in 17 districts on Dec 19.

The petition was filed early this month. However, the elected chairmen/mayors and members of tehsil councils and village and neighbourhood councils respectively, were sworn in on March 15.

The petitioner also called for the court’s orders to the government to notify the assumption of their respective offices by the council chairmen and members, and order the handing over of the movable and immovable properties, assets, staff, rights and liabilities of the then district government to the respective tehsil governments.

The petitioner’s counsel, Babar Khan Yousafzai, contended that after the petition was filed, the respondents had administered oaths to the elected council chairmen and members.

He, however, said the government had been delaying action on the other two issues highlighted in the petition.

The lawyer said after the taking of oath, the government had to notify the assumption of offices by the chairmen or mayors and members, but the notification had so far not been issued.

He said under the law, the government was bound to order transferring of movable and immovable properties, assets and staff of the former district governments to the respective tehsil governments.

Mr Yousafzai wondered where the elected chairmen/mayor and members would sit when the government wasn’t transferring properties to the respective tehsil governments.

Additional advocate general Rab Nawaz Khan contended that the government had already administered oath to the tehsil council chairmen and members and would issue the required notification and order the transfer of assets.

The bench wondered how many days the government would take to issue the required notifications. However, the law officer did not specify any date for that purpose.

The bench ordered the issuance of notifications in 10 days.

In lighter vein, the bench observed that it hoped that the notifications would be issued in the given time and the petitioner won’t need file a contempt petition.

The respondents in the petition were the provincial government through the local government secretary, ECP through chief election commissioner, and provincial election commissioner.

Mr Yousafzai contended that under the rules mentioned in the KP Local Government Act (Amendment), 2019, Section 79(1), the term of a local council shall be four years commencing on the date on which it holds the first meeting.

He said the law showed that the first meeting should be held not later than 15 days from the day on which the names of its members were notified.

The lawyer said under Section 121-A(1) of the said Act, the petitioner was entitled to be handed over the movable or immovable properties, assets, staff, rights and liabilities of the then district government.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2022
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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday suspended its earlier order directing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to decide the foreign funding case against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in 30 days.

A two judge bench, presided by Chief Justice Athar Minallah and including Justice Babar Sattar, suspended the earlier order given by the court's single-judge bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.

In his ruling earlier this month, Justice Kayani had dismissed PTI's petition seeking to keep its foreign funding confidential terming it "non-maintainable" and "misconceived". He had also rejected the request to prevent giving access of the case's record to dissident PTI founding member Akbar S Babar and a request to remove him from the case proceedings.

The PTI had filed petitions on January 25 and 31 regarding the above two requests that were subsequently rejected by the ECP on March 15. The party had then filed a petition challenging the ECP's decision to dismiss the pleas.

"The claim submitted by the petitioner (PTI) is not maintainable as petitioner itself is not able to demonstrate any of his legitimate rights when [it] itself is in agreement that respondent No 2 (Babar) can participate in the proceedings to the extent of information which he has provided to the scrutiny committee or the ECP, therefore, this petition is not based upon bona fide, rather filed with specific motive, just to stop respondent No 2 Akbar Sher Babar to participate in the proceedings, which has already been settled by this court in the previous proceedings," the court order had said.

It had added that the instant writ petition was "misconceived" and dismissed it along with directing the ECP to decide the pending complaint against PTI within a "period of next 30 days by all means, after hearing the parties in accordance with law”.

Subsequently, PTI had filed an intra-court appeal last week challenging IHC's decision. It had stated that the single-member bench held that the ECP was a constitutional entity by itself and the IHC had no supervisory jurisdiction over it.

The appeal had also argued that the order amounted to “intruding into the ECP’s domain”.

The PTI had expressed reservations over Justice Kayani’s remarks that “if any of the party funding had been received through prohibited sources, it will affect the status of such political party, including its chairman. Therefore, it is necessary to dig out the truth”.

According to the appeal, these observations were not warranted as the “judge was not mandated to use such harsh language to the utter disadvantage of the appellant”.

During the hearing today, PTI counsel Shah Khawar argued that Justice Kiyani had used harsh language and phrases such as "face the music" in his order. He said that a single-judge bench didn't have the power to pass such an order.

"Technically, this case doesn't even fall under foreign funding. It falls under prohibited funding," he contended.

Subsequently, IHC CJ Minallah observed that ECP was a "Constitutional institution" and suspended the court's previous order. He said that ECP was responsible for scrutinising the accounts of all political parties every year.

"As per the law, if prohibited funding is found, it should be seized. But when the scrutiny is complete and the report has been submitted, why is the ECP still hearing the case?" he remarked.

Meanwhile, the court combined PTI's petition against ECP's alleged bias with the intra-court appeal and issued notices to the ECP, 17 political parties, and PTI's Akbar S Babar. It has summoned their responses by May 17.

Foreign funding case​

The foreign funding case is pending since November 14, 2014. The case was filed by Babar who had alleged serious financial irregularities in the PTI’s funding from Pakistan and abroad.

On January 4 this year, the ECP’s scrutiny committee, formed in March 2018 to examine the PTI’s foreign funding in one month, finally submitted its report after 95 hearings and nearly four years.

The report, based on eight volumes of record requisitioned through the State Bank of Pakistan, proved that the PTI leadership had committed gross violations of funding laws by allowing the collection of millions of dollars and billions of rupees without any source and details from foreigners, including Indian nationals and foreign companies.

The ECP heard the case on no less than 75 occasions and passed at least 21 orders directing the PTI to file documents and financial records, but there had been no response so far. “The PTI sought written and/or oral adjournment on various pretexts to delay the case,” the commission said.

Subsequently, in March, a delegation of the joint opposition comprising representatives from the PML-N, PPP, JUI-F, ANP and BNP called on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja and submitted a letter demanding early conclusion of the case.

They stated that the foreign funding case is a matter of national security, upholding rule of law, democratic norms and neutrality and credibility of the ECP.

"There is no doubt that the PTI’s delaying tactics are meant to delay the final verdict, which is imminent, including that from the SBP. Now there is no moral or legal reason left to further delay the case," the letter said.

It added that PTI was in contempt of the ECP for not filing its comments on the scrutiny committee’s report shared with it since January 4 despite repeated verbal commitments before the ECP. The last such commitment was made by the PTI on March 1 when it committed to submitting its comments on the scrutiny committee’s report in two days.

The opposition also demanded that the foreign funding case be concluded on March 15 and, if at all needed, the case be heard on a daily basis to ensure final judgement as soon as possible.

 

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ISLAMABAD (INP): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared Wednesday the construction of Navy Golf Course in the Margalla Hills National Park illegal and ordered the defence ministry to inquire into the illegal construction of the gold course.

In a detailed 108-page verdict, the IHC also directed the defence secretary to conduct a forensic audit to assess the damage to the national exchequer. The court also rejected the claim of the Remount, Veterinary and Farms Directorate of Pakistan Army about the ownership of 8068 acres of land in the national park.

The lease agreement of the Remount, Veterinary and Farms Directorate of Pakistan Army with Monal Restaurant was also declared illegal by the court. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah wrote and signed the verdict before leaving for the Eid holidays, and it was released on Wednesday (today). The report of the Islamabad Environmental Commission was also included in the 108-page verdict.

“The state and the government officials are bound to protect the Margalla Hills,” the court said. “The state has the responsibility to take action against those who violate the fundamental rights of the people,” it added. “Ironically, the state institutions are also involved in the desecration of the notified protected area of the Margalla Hills,” it stated.

“The Pakistan Navy and the Pakistan Army took the law into their own hands and violated the enforced laws,” the court declared. “It was an ideal case of the power of elite and undermining the rule of law,” it pointed out. The court further said that the state had the duty to take steps to lessen damages to the Margalla Hills to prevent further destruction. It merits a mention here that the court had earlier issued a summary judgment in the case on January 11, 2022.

 

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ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued notices to the National Assembly speaker, its secretary and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday on a petition filed by the PTI against “piecemeal” acceptance of its lawmakers’ resignations.

The PTI has argued that the resignations of all its 123 MNAs had been accepted months ago and the present National Assembly speaker had no “lawful authority or jurisdiction” to verify the resignations as former deputy speaker Qasim Suri had already approved them.

All PTI lawmakers, except dissidents, resigned en masse on April 11, two days after former prime minister Imran Khan was ousted from the top office after losing a confidence motion in parliament.

Later that month, Mr Ashraf decided to verify the resignations of the 123 PTI lawmakers by calling them individually or in small groups, but they couldn’t show up after party chief Imran Khan barred them from appearing before the speaker.

On July 27, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted the resignations of only 11 PTI lawmakers, including Dr Shireen Mazari, Ali Muhammad Khan and Farrukh Habib.

During the hearing on Thursday, PTI’s counsel Faisal Chaudhry submitted the copy of Mr Suri’s approval of resignations to the IHC acting chief justice.

The court issued notices to the National Assembly speaker, its secretary and the ECP, and set the next hearing for Aug 16.

The PTI petition said 123 MNAs gave their resignations on April 11 after the PTI’s parliamentary party meeting presided over by Mr Khan in a committee room at Parliament House. However, the present speaker withheld these resignations and did not forward them to the ECP on the pretext of “so-called verification”, it said.

“Now after the lapse of around three and a half months, the National Assembly speaker has approved resignation of only 11 MNAs of the PTI” and forwarded them to the election commission, which had de-notified the lawmakers, it said.

The party requested the court to direct the speaker to accept all resignations at once. Similarly, ECP should also be directed to denotify all PTI lawmakers en masse.

Raja Riaz’s removal

Also on Thursday, the Lahore High Court directed the NA speaker to take a decision within 30 days on an application requesting the removal of Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz.

Justice Muzamil Akhtar Shabbir, while taking up the case, wondered how the system would function if members of the assembly sat outside parliament and how one could oppose while sitting outside parliament.

He observed that parliament would have to conduct the election for the post opposition leader while completing the procedure in accordance with the law, but there was no other candidate in running, except Raja Riaz.

When the judge asked what the Constitution said when there was only one candidate before the NA speaker, the additional attorney general replied that the speaker fixed a day for the nomination of the NA opposition leader immediately after the contest for the premier and that the speaker nominated Raja Riaz through all due processes.

The court remarked that the petitioner was not a member of parliament and asked whether an ordinary citizen could file a complaint or not.

During the proceedings, petitioner Munir Ahmed’s counsel Advocate Azhar Siddique informed the court that an application had been submitted earlier to speaker for removal of the opposition leader, but no action was taken. Raja Riaz was holding this position without the consent of his party (i.e. PTI), he argued.

He claimed that the nomination of Raja Riaz as opposition leader was in “sheer violation” of rules 39, 43 and others of the ‘Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007 (“the Rules”)’.

Advocate Azhar argued that all resignations recently presented in the National Assembly were not accepted and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had not de-notified them.

Referring to a case, he said the IHC chief justice had held: “It is an admitted position that Dr Shireen Mazari continues to enjoy the status of a member of the Majlis-i-Shoora (parliament). She has not been de-notified by the Election Commission of Pakistan nor has the worthy Speaker of the National Assembly accepted her resignation in accordance with the principles and law highlighted by a division bench of that court.”

The counsel contended that the order clearly stated that the resignations had not been accepted by the NA speaker nor had the ECP de-notified the said members.

“If the said practice was not completed in accordance with procedure, then how is the respondent, Raja Riaz, appointed as the opposition leader?” he asked.

The court directed the NA speaker to decide the application seeking removal of the opposition leader within 30 days and adjourned the hearing till next date.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2022

 

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SHC suspends ministry notice on ARY News​

Kalbe Ali | Ishaq Tanoli
August 14, 2022

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: The Sindh High Court on Saturday suspended an interior ministry notice until Aug 17 that cancelled security clearance of ARY News.

A bench comprising Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry also issued notices to the interior secretary, the chairman of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, a federal law officer and other defendants for the hearing on Aug 17.

On Saturday, the ARY News management filed a lawsuit in the high court challenging an interior ministry notice issued on Aug 11 directing Pemra to cancel the NOC issued to ARY News “with immediate effect and until further orders on the basis of adverse reports from agencies”.

The counsel said the SHC directed Pemra on Aug 10 to restore the transmission of ARY News and restrained it from suspending or revoking the channel’s licence until Aug 17. However, that order was not complied with and instead the ministry issued the notice to Pemra, he said.

Media organisations demand channel be restored immediately

He asserted that Saleem Baig was reappointed as Pemra chairman on Aug 12 and he proceeded to call a meeting of the regulatory body on the same day in which he withdrew ARY News security clearance and declined its application pending for the renewal of its broadcast licence in view of the notice issued by the ministry.

The ARY’s counsel argued that the channel’s application for licence renewal was pending with Pemra since September 2019 and the ministry already issued a security clearance on Nov 10, 2021. He contended that security clearance was cancelled in bad faith, politically motivated and aimed at stifling the right of free speech. He said Pemra chairman was appointed overnight without any advertisement apparently to “fix” the channel.

Pemra lawyers, along with a deputy attorney general, argued that the suspended notice was not unsubstantiated and the underlying adverse reports received from agencies would be shared with the court and requested that no interim order be passed until such time.

Media bodies slam govt

Meanwhile, media bodies have slammed the government‘s move to ban ARY News and demanded the authorities restore the channel. Expressing concerns about the cancellation of ARY News’ NOC, the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) in a statement asked the authorities to follow due legal process and give the channel an opportunity to explain its position.

“The PBA has always supported responsible journalism and freedom of expression within the parameters of the Constitution. Any violations of the electronic media code of conduct endorsed by the Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan must be dealt with by following the legal process,” it said.

The Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors has also demanded the government immediately withdraw a notification cancelling the NOC issued to ARY News and noted that the government’s decision had put the jobs of hundreds of workers in jeopardy.

In a joint statement, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) President Afzal Butt and Secretary General Arshad Ansari noted that the government had ignored the Sindh High Court’s order to restore the TV channel by 7pm on Aug 12.

The PFUJ also held a large demonstration outside the ARY’s Islamabad office to show solidarity with the channel. Mr Butt has said the journalists’ body would launch agitation across the country if the channel was not restored.

“It is feared that the negative report of the agencies could be used as a justification to strangle other TV channels in the future,” the PFUJ said.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2022

 

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IHC quashes three FIRs against KP chief minister​

Malik Asad
October 8, 2022

ISLAMABAD: Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday quashed three first information reports (FIRs) registered against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister in connection with violence during PTI’s long march in the capital.

KP Chief Minister Mehmood Khan and others were booked in one FIR registered with Kohsar police and two with Tarnol police.

The police registered the FIRs alleging that the PTI launched a protest against the government and held processions on May 25 and 26th.

The party’s chairman, Imran Khan, and other leaders delivered provocative speeches, blocked main roads, entered Red Zone illegally, used loudspeakers and violated Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The chief minister’s counsel, Shah Khawar, argued that his client had not committed any crime; there was no evidence available against him and the FIRs were registered in utter disregard of the order of the apex court.

A state counsel, on the other hand, stated that the petitioner was nominated in the FIRs as he had committed heinous crime. Sufficient evidence is available against him, he said, adding the petitioner had alternate and efficacious remedy of filing a petition under section 249-A of the CrPC for acquittal at any stage in the trial court.

Justice Jahangiri observed that the nature of allegations mentioned in the FIRs was the same - the chief minister had delivered a provocative speech in Peshawar. Therefore, the police cannot register a case against him in Islamabad.

“There is no allegation against the petitioner that he entered Islamabad during the said occurrences/protests, the only allegation leveled against him is that he made provocative speeches and upon his abetment, processions/unlawful assemblies were organised in Islamabad.”

Justice Jahangir was of the opinion that “registration of cases to the extent of present petitioner [CM KP] on face of it is tainted with mala fide, without jurisdiction and even if FIRs are allowed to hold the field, there is no probability of the conviction of the petitioner.”

Subsequently, he ordered to quash the FIRs against Mr Mehmood.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2022

 

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Justice Aamer Farooq likely to be elevated as IHC chief justice​

Malik Asad
October 29, 2022

A file photo of Senior Puisne Judge of the Islamabad High Court Justice Aamer Farooq.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has convened the meeting of Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Nov 1 to consider elevation of Senior Puisne Judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Aamer Farooq as Chief Justice.

The seat of IHC Chief Justice is likely to be vacant next week following the appointment of Justice Athar Minallah in the Supreme Court.

JCP in its meeting of Oct 24, which was presided over by Chief Justice Bandial, unanimously approved appointment of Justice Minallah in the Supreme Court.

The panel also approved the candidature of Justice Shahid Waheed of the Lahore High Court and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi of the Sindh High Court (SHC) with a majority of five to four. The name of Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui of the SHC was dropped.

The Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointment also convened meeting to deliberate upon JCP’s recommendations, though the agenda of this meeting was to consider the confirmation of LHC’s Judges.

However, the committee can take up any matter with the permission of chair, said the agenda of the Parliamentary Committee.

It is said that the Parliamentary Committee may take up the matter of elevations in the SC on Nov 2.

Justice Minallah subsequently may assume office of the apex court judge after a formal approval of the President.

It is expected that Justice Farooq would become the Chief Justice of IHC in the subsequent week.

Justice Farooq took oath as an Additional Judge of Islamabad High Court on January 1, 2015 and on the recommendation of the JCP he was confirmed as Judge of High Court on December 23, 2015.

During seven years in the IHC, he decided over 10,000 cases in the single bench and about 5,000 cases in the division bench.

He authored landmark judgments in criminal, civil and corporate matters.

Justice Farooq got his Senior Cambridge certificate in 1986 from St. Anthony’s High School Lahore and Higher Senior Cambridge certificate from Aitchison College in the year 1988.

He secured his LLB degree from London University, UK and qualified as Barrister-at-Law from Lincoln’s Inn, London in the year 1993. He was enrolled as an Advocate of the Lahore High Court in the year 1994 and as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the year 2007.

He established his law practice at Lahore with an Office at Islamabad as well, dealing mostly with banking, commercial, tax and civil matters. Since 2009 until his elevation, he was part of adjunct faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2022

 

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Justice Aamer Farooq’s nomination for IHC CJ approved​

Development comes after incumbent CJ Justice Athar Minallah was elevated to the Supreme Court last week

Our Correspondent
November 01, 2022

Islamabad High Court (IHC) Judge Justice Aamer Farooq. PHOTO: IHC

ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has unanimously approved nomination of Senior Puisne Judge Justice Aamer Farooq as new chief justice of Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The JCP meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday to consider the appointment of the senior judge.

After nine months of deadlock, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan last week approved the elevation of three high courts judges, including IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah to the Supreme Court.

After the elevation of Justice Minallah to the apex court, two seats in the high court stood vacant.

Parliamentary Committee of Judges’ Appointment is holding a meeting on November 3 to consider the JCP proposals regarding the elevation of three high court judges, including IHC CJ Minallah.

During its meeting held on Oct 24, the JCP by a majority of 5-4 did not approve the nomination of Justice Shafi Siddiqui, who is sixth on the seniority list of the Sindh High Court (SHC) Judges.

The meeting had continued for almost three hours during which heated exchanges took place between two senior judges, it is learnt.

It was also learnt that JCP unanimously approved the elevation of IHC Chief Justice Minallah, while the elevation of Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi of Lahore High Court (LHC) was approved by majority of 5-4 votes.

The nomination SHC Justice Siddiqui was deferred by the JCP by a 5-4 votes after one member, Justice (retd) Sarmad Jalal Osmany dissented, saying that SHC Justice Aqeel Abbasi was a better option.

Three Judicial members, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, opposed the nomination of three junior high courts judges as they supported seniority principle.

 

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Unnecessary censorship suffocates society, stifles creativity, rules SHC​

Naeem Sahoutara
November 26, 2022


KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has ruled it is not the job of judiciary to morally police the public by deciding what should be or should not be viewed by them as unnecessary censorship suffocates a society and stifles its creativity and growth.
“In our view, where a cinematic work has passed through the censors, who have examined its content and cleared it for release with an appropriate certification, an individual cannot be allowed to trump that decision through a court proceeding based on his conception of morality. Indeed, it is not the function of the Court under Article 199 to make a moral judgment so as to curtail the freedom of speech and expression of a filmmaker, as safeguarded under Article 19 of the Constitution,” stated the detailed order passed by a division bench dismissing a petition seeking ban on the film Joyland.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh, added: “On the contrary, the default position of the Court under Article 199 ought to be that of fully safeguarding the fundamental right by giving as expensive an interpretation to Article 19 as possible, and in that event of a restriction being imposed by the Board or any other authority that may be competent in that regard, testing the reasonableness of that restriction stringently, so as to ensure that the same is “reasonable” in the strictest conceivable sense.

“As such, in the absence of any restriction imposed by the concerned quarter, whether that be the Board of Provincial Government, it does not fall to the Court to morally police the public by making a determination of what should or should not be viewed and to take on the function of itself devising and imposing a restriction. Suffice it to say that unnecessary censorship suffocates a society and stifles its creativity and growth”.

Detailed order dismissing plea for ban on Joyland says transgender persons are equal citizens of Pakistan in all respects

“Looking to the matter at hand, we are confident that Islam, being the great global religion that it is, is strong enough to withstand a cinematic work portraying a purely fictional account of a relationship humanizing a transgender character, and are equally sanguine that our society is not so weak as to crumble as a consequence,” the order stated.

“Suffice it to say that transgender persons are equal citizens of Pakistan in all respects and the stories of their life, their struggle, and their human relationships deserve equal space and recognition,” the court order concluded.

The petitioner sought a ban on the film, arguing that it apparently portrayed a relationship between a married man and a transgender woman, and averred that the storyline violates the Islamic teachings and the Constitution.

However, the judges observed that the petitioner did not make any attempt to show how any Articles would be violated by the screening of the film, other than confined his argument to the extent that the theme and storyline thereof offended the Article 277.

The bench noted that the petitioner did not directly challenge the certification of the film or even referred to the Sindh Motion Pictures Act, 2011 or impleaded as party the Board mandated to certify films for exhibition in the Sindh province under the 18th Amendment. Nor was it even remotely alleged that the statue offends the aforementioned Article, they added.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2022

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No-trust motion against CM Elahi: LHC allows suspended PML-N MPAs to cast votes​

Court allows suspended lawmakers to attend next session of the house and permits them to cast their votes​

By Shahid Hussain
December 20, 2022

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday allowed the suspended lawmakers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to attend the crucial Punjab Assembly session for the no-confidence motion filed by the joint opposition against Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, Aaj News reported.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan had banned 18 PML-N lawmakers for 15 sessions for their unruly conduct during the session in October.

According to the provincial assembly order, the opposition members started hue and cry when former CM Punjab Usman Buzdar was called to move his resolution.

The lawmakers started raising slogans and made derogatory remarks against the leadership of PTI and the chair when the speaker requested them not to disrupt the house’s proceedings.

Later, in pursuance of the powers vested in him in terms of rule 210 of the Assembly Rules, the speaker barred the lawmakers from attending 15 consecutive sittings of the house.

However, a day after filing the no-trust motion against the Punjab CM, the lawmakers challenged the October 23 order of the speaker.

 

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LHC orders release of PTI’s Qureshi, Umar, others held in ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’​

Rana Bilal
March 3, 2023

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered the release of PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and other leaders and workers after they were detained during the party’s ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ (court arrest movement).

Qureshi and Umar had presented themselves for arrest last week and the LHC was informed on Monday that they were being held in various jails across the Punjab province for 30 days. The movement was called off on Wednesday by PTI chief Imran Khan after the Supreme Court ordered that provincial elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be held within 90 days.

Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh suspended the detention orders during an open court hearing today on a petition moved the same day by PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry.

The written order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, said the respondents were directed to release the people mentioned in the list attached with Chaudhry’s petition “forthwith if they are not required in any criminal case”.

The petition requested that the respondents be ordered to release all political workers who courted arrest as part of the PTI campaign and that any preventive measure or order issued should be declared illegal and quashed.

During the hearing, the judge asked what was illegal about the detention of the PTI workers and leaders, adding that the party had started the court arrest movement itself. He questioned Chaudhry’s lawyer, Advocate Sikandar Zulqarnain, about the admissibility of the petition.

“They are all political prisoners. It is clearly explained in the rules about political prisoners,” Zulqarnain said, adding that the court arrest movement had started as a protest and the PTI leaders had presented themselves for arrest.

Meanwhile, the public prosecutor argued that there was no proof attached to the petition that PTI workers were in custody and said he would get instructions from the authorities concerned.

Justice Sheikh directed him to inform the court after taking instructions.

The government counsel said that the PTI’s leaders and workers had entered custody willingly.

Reconvening after a break, the judge suspended their detention orders and issued notices to the respondents for March 7.

 

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PHC postpones by-elections on NA seats​

By-polls had been scheduled to take place on March 16 and 19

Correspondent
March 03, 2023


The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday ordered the postponement of the by-polls scheduled to be held this month on the National Assembly seats, reported Express News.

The court issued a notice to the concerned parties while issuing an order postponing the by-elections that had been scheduled to take place on March 16 and 19.

Today's hearing was held on the petition filed against National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf's acceptance of the resignations of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members of the assembly, requesting the court to postpone the by-polls.

The PHC announced its decision to postpone the by-elections on the NA seats and issued an order suspending the election schedule. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till March 7.

It should be noted that by-elections were to be held on a total of 24 seats in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

 

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KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Saturday annulled the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) examinations held in 2020 on account of tampering.

SHC Registrar apprised a two-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Iqbal Khuhro and Justice Adnanul Karim in a report that the Commission had got the answer copies marked without informing the supervisory committee which included Registrar Karachi and additional registrars (ARs) for Hyderabad, Larkana and Sukkur, and granted candidates extra marks as well. The SHC had ordered the committee to supervise the 2020 SPSC examinations, the report added.

The report delineated that sealed answer copies were dispatched to the SPSC headquarters under the supervision of police for marking. Later, all the ARs wrote multiple letters for inclusion in the next phase of recruitment which were responded to after two years directing them to appear before the commission with the copies.

As the court staff reached the commission for the next phase, it discovered that the answer copies were tampered. “The SPSC had the copies marked without appraising the ARs and awarded extra marks to the candidates too,” the report added.

The SPSC chairman told the court officials that findings had been shared with the chief secretary against those who tampered with the copies.

The court remarked that the commission abused its authority and indulged in red-tape, so that it would issue a verdict in line with the action taken by the Sindh government against the perpetrators.

 

[ghazi52]

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Government should make Toshakhana records from 1990 to 2001 public: LHC​

• Lahore High Court judge says no Toshakhana gifts can be retained without making necessary payment

BR
March 22, 2023

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday directed the government to make public the record of Toshakhana gifts received by Pakistani officials between 1990 and 2001.

The order was issued by Justice Asim Hafeez while he conducted the hearing on a petition filed by Munir Ahmed, urging the government to make public the complete details of Toshakhana gifts since 1947.

“Any gifts received by the country from friendly nations should also be made public and nothing should be kept hidden,” said Judge Hafeez.

He emphasised that no one could retain any gift without making the necessary payment, adding that complete transparency should be maintained.

While hearing the petition, the judge called for presenting the records “in whatever form they are.”

“The court will pronounce the verdict after having a full review [of the Toshakhana records]. We will also see who were these gifts given by,” he said.

He also called for reviewing why the gifts were given.

 

[ghazi52]

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PAKISTAN

Toshakhana case: IHC issues notice to NAB for breaching protocols while summoning Imran, Bushra Bibi​

• Imran challenged notices sent on February 17 and March 16 by the anti-graft watchdog

BR

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for not following the standard protocols while summoning Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana case.

A division bench headed by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq took the decision after hearing petitions filed by Imran and his wife, challenging the notices sent on February 17 and March 16 by the anti-graft watchdog.

Bushra Bibi's petition demanded that NAB’s notices should be declared illegal.

The IHC granted stay in the case by changing the investigation till the final verdict of the Toshakhana case was announced and ordered a halt to the disciplinary action against the petitioners based on the call-up notices.

Bushra Bibi's counsel Khawaja Haris stressed that NAB's notices failed to state in what capacity the information was being sought.

"Providing complete information about the notices is mandatory for NAB as per the judicial orders," he said.

Judge Farooq inquired about the procedure of serving notices as per the latest NAB amendments.

"The Amendment Act says the NAB must establish a reason and communicate it [to the receiver] for summoning someone," the lawyer said responding to the query.

"As per the amendment law, it should be mentioned whether anyone was summoned as an accused or summoned for any other reason."

Judge Farooq inquired whether Imran Khan received the summons. The lawyer then presented the NAB's call-up notices served to Khan, in court.

On April 2, Imran and Bushra Bibi filed petitions in IHC, urging it to declare the NAB illegal without lawful authority.

The PTI chief further prayed that till the pending final adjudication, the NAB is restrained from converting the inquiry of the impugned call up notices into investigation, or from taking any adverse action against him on the basis of the call up notices.

Imran Khan challenged the NAB call up notices on the ground that they are ultra vires to the provision of Section 19 of National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999. Imran Khan said the notices are mala fides and asked the Bureau to withdraw them as they are violative of the NAB law.

He contended that on March 8, he replied to the first notice and maintained that the notice did not comply with the mandatory provisions of clause (c) of Section 9 of the NAO. He stated that the notice was non est in the eye of law.

He stated that after the reply second ‘Call Up’ notice to him on March 16, wherein, he was asked to appear before the Combined Investigation Team (CIT) on March 21. The second Call Up notice was also replied.