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| July 9, 2005 | Saturday | Jumadi-us-Sani 1, 1426 |
SC wants early hearing in Hashmi’s case
ISLAMABAD, July 8: The Supreme Court on Friday directed Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan to ensure early hearing of a petition of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) pending with the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi bench, against the conviction of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi in a mutiny case. A two-member bench comprising Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi gave the directions when ARD counsel Akram Sheikh intervened while the court was rising for the day and requested for early hearing. The counsel pleaded that Hashmi’s case involved “the important matter of parliament’s supremacy” and should be decided on urgent basis.
Special Prosecutor General Munir Bhatti promised that Hashmi’s appeal, which had been pending for 15 months, would be taken up on its turn when the high court reassembles after its three-month summer vacation.
Javed Hashmi was convicted and sentenced to 23 years in jail on April 12, 2004 on charges of inciting mutiny, defaming army and army officers, forgery and abetment. He was arrested on October 29, 2003, nine days after he distributed to reporters in the parliament’s cafeteria a letter allegedly written by an anonymous officer of Pakistan Army, inciting public against the army.
In his appeal, Mr Hashmi pleaded that he was falsely and maliciously implicated in a mutiny case, concocted by the government intelligence agencies besides his conviction was also not supported by any evidence.
PML-N Secretary-General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra told reporters on Friday that the global scenario had forced the present government to allow popular leaders like Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to return to their country ending their forced exile.
However, he rejected the possibility of any deal with the government, saying PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif had stated that “negotiations with Musharraf government would be sheer wastage of time”.
Referring to Nawaz Sharif’s passport issue, Iqbal Jhagra said it was Mr Sharif’s constitutional right to get his passport back. Besides the Supreme Court had ruled that no government could bar any citizen from coming to his country, he said.
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