ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: Pakistan Muslim League and Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Monday filed petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the changes in the anti-terrorism law under which the anti-terrorism court would comprise an army officer, a judge and a magistrate.

The PML challenged the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2002, through Information Secretary Siddiqul Farooq.

The MQM, through its deputy leader Aftab Sheikh, prayed the court to declare the ordinance ultra vires to the provisions of the constitution. In the petition, filed through Advocate Mohammad Akram Sheikh, it contended that the presence of army officers as members of ATCs was against the concept of an independent judiciary.

It stated that the ordinance was contrary to the limited charter given to the army to govern the country.

The apex court, the petitioner stated, only allowed exercise of executive and legislative powers by the rulers subject to the rules of necessity. No mandate was given to the self-appointed rulers to exercise judicial powers, it said.

The MQM stated that the status of the government was not higher than that of a caretaker government. The act of the federation of promulgating the ordinance, visualising the creation of anti-terrorism court having army officers as its members, be declared to be acts without lawful authority, it appealed.

It stated that the superior courts had repeatedly held that there could not be any parallel system of judiciary, and that courts could be set up only as laid down in Article 212 of the Constitution.

The PML in its petition, through Advocate Mohammad Ikram Chaudhry, stated that amendments had given the ATCs a colour and scheme of military courts, which was against the SC judgment in Liaquat Hussain case (PLD 1999 SC 504) and violation of the principles enunciated in Mehram Ali case.