Tag: Plea

  • Peshawar High Court rejects SIC’s plea regarding reserved seats

    Peshawar High Court rejects SIC’s plea regarding reserved seats

    The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has rejected a petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) verdict on reserved seats.

    “Petitions are unanimously rejected,” the court maintained.

    Earlier today, PHC chief justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan resumed the hearing and five members of the bench, including Justice Ijaz Anwar, Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, Justice Shakeel Ahmad, and Justice Arshad Ali, heard the petition.

    SIC’s lawyer, Barrister Ali Zafar, argued during the hearing that it’s not mentioned in the constitution that a party should submit any list to the ECP for reserved seats.

    “It is not written anywhere that you cannot resubmit the list or when it has to be submitted,” the barrister argued, adding that there is no restriction on providing a second list and that the ECP could have issued a second schedule, as it did for the general elections.

    “As per the law, those who participate in elections will get seats,” Justice Anwar remarked.

    The court then questioned Barrister Zafar if it wasn’t clearly stated anywhere that the second schedule cannot be issued.

    “The law does not prevent the Election Commission from issuing another schedule,” the lawyer responded.

    Justice Arshad remarked that Section 104 explains the mechanism for reserved seats as it states that when a list is submitted then another list can be given.

    “Section 104 says that if a political party participates in an election, it will give a list,” the lawyer argued.

    He earlier argued that whoever wins the number of seats, they get reserved seats in the same proportion. 

    “Their seats cannot be increased.”

    “If these seats are not given, the parliament will not be complete,” remarked the chief justice, responding to which the lawyer requested the court to interpret the Constitution in a way that there remains no gap in its interpretation.

    Barrister Ali Zafar also told the court that the ECP has authority to maintain justice, adding that there should be transparency in the election for reserved seats.

  • Joy for Joyland: SHC dismisses plea seeking ban on film

    Joy for Joyland: SHC dismisses plea seeking ban on film

    The Sindh High Court has dismissed a plea requesting ban on the movie Joyland, Naeem Sahoutara reports for Dawn.

    The petitioner requested a ban on the movie, stating that the movie depicts a relationship between a married man and a transgender woman, and that the plot is against the Constitution and Islamic principles.

    The bench was headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh.

    “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.

    “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.”

    “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.

  • Court issues notice to NAB on Dar’s plea to cancel warrants

    Court issues notice to NAB on Dar’s plea to cancel warrants

    An accountability court has served a notice to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) today (Wednesday) after newly-appointed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar surrendered himself before the court and submitted a petition pleading for the cancellation of his arrest warrants.

    The court then issued a notice to the NAB and ordered Dar to appear before the court on October 7.

    “We will hear the application for cancellation of warrants along with assets’ reference,” the judge remarked.

    In 2017, Dar was a declared a proclaimed offender in a NAB reference due to his continued absence from the proceedings.

    NAB accused Dar of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

    The case was filed by NAB in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case.

    The same year, Dar flew to United Kingdom due to seek medical treatment. He stayed there for almost five years until his return to Pakistan on Monday.

  • Jadhav refuses Pakistan’s offer to challenge conviction in IHC

    Jadhav refuses Pakistan’s offer to challenge conviction in IHC

    While refusing Pakistan’s offer to file an appeal in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his conviction, Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav has decided to apply for a mercy petition, the Foreign Office (FO) has said.

    Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel — a serving commander of the Indian Navy associated with Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) — was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan while attempting to crossover into Pakistan through the country’s border with Iran. Subsequently, in April 2017, a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) handed him death sentence on charges of espionage and terrorism.

    In a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, Additional Attorney General (AAG) Ahmed Irfan and Director General (DG) (South Asia & SAARC) Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry said that an ordinance was promulgated by the government on May 20, which allowed the Indian government, Jadhav and his legal representative to file a review petition in IHC within 60 days, which expire on July 19.

    According to Dawn, they said Indian authorities had requested to appoint an Indian lawyer to advocate for Jadhav but if an appeal is filed in the IHC, only a lawyer that holds a license of the respective court would be able to represent the spy. Therefore, an Indian lawyer cannot advocate for the convicted spy but they may be allowed to assist Jadhav’s counsel.

    The Pakistani government had allowed consular access to Jadhav twice in the past and has offered to do so again, the officials said. Authorities have also offered to arrange Jadhav’s meeting with his father and wife, they added. The AAG and DG (South Asia & SAARC) expressed hope that the Indian government will respond positively to this offer.

    Both officials recalled that Pakistan had earlier allowed Jadhav’s mother and wife to meet him and said that the government had complied with the verdict of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) passed last year.

    They said Pakistan had provided evidence of Indian state terrorism to the international community multiple times and will continue to do so.