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KARACHI, July 23: The hearing of a petition questioning the detention of a human rights activist was on Wednesday adjourned to Thursday for detailed arguments by both sides.
The petition came up before a Sindh High Court division bench, comprising Justices Zahid Kurban Alavi and Zia Perwez, on Wednesday afternoon. The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Noor Naz Agha, submitted that she would take about an hour to argue against the proposed trial of activist Krishan Sharma by a military court.
The bench asked her to advance her arguments on Thursday morning instead.
According to Deputy Attorney-General Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui, the petition against illegal confinement was no longer maintainable as Sharma had been lawfully arrested and detained under the Official Secrets Act, read with the Pakistan Army Act.
Advocate Agha again requested a court direction to the military authorities to allow petitioner Leela to see her detained son. The bench previously seized of the petition had asked the petitioner to make an application to the corps commander for a meeting with Sharma at the Liaquat Barracks, Saddar.
The counsel said the application had been moved but there was no response from the authorities. The bench decided to take up the matter on Thursday.
NOTICES ISSUED: A division bench of the Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the attorney-general and the railway minister in a petition challenging the simultaneous assumption of party and government offices by the latter.
Moved by three vice-presidents and six other office-bearers of the Sindh PML (Q) through Advocate Shakeel Ahmed, the petition says that both the Political Parties Order (Chief Executive’s Order of 2002) and the party constitution registered with the Election Commission bar combination of party and government offices. By joining together the presidentship of the Sindh PML (Q) and the federal cabinet membership, Railway Minister Ghous Bakhsh Khan Mehar has violated the law as well as the party constitution and rendered himself ineligible to retain not only the two offices but also membership of the National Assembly.
The petition came up for hearing before a bench, comprising Justices Zahid Kurban Alavi and Zia Perwez, which directed that a notice be issued to the attorney-general for July 30 as important questions of law were involved. Notices to the minister and other respondents, including the chief election commissioner, were also ordered to be issued for the same date. Deputy Attorney-General Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui was asked to assist the court
NOTICE TO NAB, FIA: The same bench issued notices to the interior ministry, the National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency for July 25 in a petition moved by businessman Sadruddin Gangji against denial of permission to proceed abroad. He said his name had been put on the exit control list. He had gone abroad a number of times during the last three years but now permission had been denied.
The bench deferred the hearing of a petition by Al-Akhtar Trust against freezing of its accounts until after adjudication of an identical matter by the Supreme Court.
As the petition came up for hearing, Deputy Attorney-General Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui pointed out that the petitioner trust had links with Al-Rasheed Trust, whose petition against freezing of its accounts was pending before the Supreme Court.
RECOVERY STAYED: The Sindh High Court stayed on Wednesday recovery of the customs duty from a textile mills on the machinery imported by it.
The petitioner, Gadoon Textile Mills, submitted that export- oriented industrial units were allowed exemption from payment of the customs duty on the machinery and spares imported by them. It opened a letter of credit under the exemption notification. However, the notification was subsequently withdrawn on June 7, 2003.
The petitioner said since it had ordered the goods and opened the letter of credit under the exemption notification and before its withdrawal, it was entitled to the concession.
A bench, comprising Justices Zahid Kurban Alavi and Zia Perwez, admitted the petition to regular hearing, and issued notices to the respondents and stayed the recovery of the impugned duty in the meanwhile.
