The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has clarified opening its doors late on the evening of April 9, 2022 when the process of a no-confidence motion against former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan was going on in the National Assembly (NA).
In a statement, the court said, “The filing of petitions late in the evening on April 9, 2022, has been misreported and queries have been raised whether petitions can be presented after the notified court timings.”
On Saturday, there were rumours that a petition was filed in the IHC, asking the court to restrain Khan from de-notifying Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa from his post.
IHC said the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President approached the court and requested the court to implement the Supreme Court’s April 7 order. The IHC statement then referred to the petitions, including a “pre-emptive” constitutional petition that sought to restrain the then prime minister from de-notifying the army chief.
“As a constitutional court, the Islamabad High Court has ensured that cases relating to extreme urgency are presented at any time after the notified timings,” the high court said, adding: “The honourable chief justice, if satisfied that there exists extreme urgency, may order fixing of the case at any time.”
“A petition regarding extreme urgency could be presented at any time after the notified court timings and it could also be fixed for hearing subject to the satisfaction of the chief justice that circumstances exist for doing so,” the court said further.
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