ISLAMABAD, Oct 24: The Supreme Court will take up on Thursday Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad’s petition, which has sought the intervention of the apex court in a “sudden change in Pakistan’s Afghan policy.”

In his constitutional petition, filed in the court on Tuesday, Mr Ahmad challenged the Sindh government’s decision of not allowing him to enter the province for 30 days.

He demanded that the court direct federal and provincial governments not to obstruct his free movement, which, he said, had been guaranteed by the constitution.

An SC official confirmed that the petition had been fixed for preliminary hearing before a two-member bench, comprising Justice Irshad Hasan Khan and Justice Hamid Ali Mirza.

The petitioner stated that an elected government of the country had recognized the government of Mulla Mohammad Omar and the Taliban in accordance with the wishes of the people of Pakistan.

He said that the government had taken a U-turn against the desires of the people and had allowed un-constitutionally the United States to use its territory, space and all other facilities to invade the friendly people and state of Afghanistan.

The JI chief stated that it was struggling to convince the government through peaceful means to change its policy to avoid a “situation similar to 16th December 1971.”

He said his party had always made efforts for the rule of law, human rights and democracy, and had knocked the doors of the superior judiciary on many occasions for the protection of constitution, rule of law, democracy and the independence of the judiciary.

He said a fundamental change in the ideology of Pakistan by the non-elected government could jeopardize the territorial integrity of the nation.

“Injunctions of Quran and Sunnah do not allow the Islamic republic of Pakistan to unconditionally bow before the unrealistic and bigotry influence of American vested interest”, he added.

Mr Ahmad said the government had no moral or constitutional authority to interfere in the long-term Afghan-Pakistan foreign policy evolved by an elected government.