May 25, 2002	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 12,1423

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ISLAMABAD, May 24: The president on Friday appointed two Ulema as ad hoc members of the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court, removing Maulana Taqi Usmani from the panel of Ulema judges.

Those appointed on Friday are Dr Allama Khalid Mahmood and Dr Rashid Ahmad Jullandari as ad hoc members of Shariat Appellate Bench.

Under the Constitution, two Ulema can be appointed as ad hoc members of the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court which has the jurisdiction to decide appeals against the Federal Shariat Court judgments.

The appointments are significant as the government has decided to approach the Supreme Court to reverse its judgment on declaring interest-based banking as Riba. The deadline for the implementation of the Riba judgment is June 30, 2002.

The Shariat Appellate Bench is likely to be constituted in the first week of June to take up the review petition of the United Bank seeking reversal of the judgment.

The government has already engaged Syed Riazul Hasan Gillani and Raza Kazim to represent the federation before the Supreme Court.

Justice Taqi Usmani was part of the Supreme Court’s Shariat Appellate Bench, which had upheld the Federal Shariat Court judgment, shacking the foundations of the economy by declaring that interest in any form was riba.