October 07, 2006	Saturday	Ramazan 13, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: The Supreme Court on Friday observed that the bail matter of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) President Makhdoom Javed Hashmi would be decided on merit and adjourned the case for Monday.

“Do not make it a political case; we will decide it only in legal and constitutional perspective,” Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed this while hearing the bail petition of Javed Hashmi.

The apex court is seized with three different petitions of Javed Hashmi seeking bail, challenging conviction and trial in Adiala Jail.

Javed Hashmi was sentenced to 23 years in jail on April 12, 2004 for inciting mutiny, defaming army and army officers and forgery and abetment.

He was arrested on October 29, 2003, nine days after he had distributed a letter among media persons at Parliament House cafeteria allegedly written by some unknown army officer inciting public against the army.

On Friday, when the two-member bench took up the case, Mr. Hashmi’s counsel Muhammad Akram Sheikh was short of some documents needed to be attached to the case file.

The bench directed the counsel to furnish all relevant documents with the court, including one copy each of the first information report (FIR) and the charge-sheet against his client.

Akram Sheikh told the apex court that an appeal of Mr. Hashmi was pending with the Lahore High Court and requested that the Lahore High Court be directed to dispose of the case.

Mr. Sheikh said that he had received a number of letters from different human rights organizations in which the sentence and continued detention of his client had been slammed.

However, the chief justice observed that the court would not be influenced and decide the matter on merit.