June 09, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1428

LAHORE, June 8: The Lahore High Court on Friday disposed of a Pakistan Lawyers Forum constitutional petition seeking directives to restrain the corps commanders from getting involved in political activities.

Petitioner AK Dogar sought declaration of President Gen Pervez Musharraf liable for an action under Article 67 of the Constitution read with Section 6 of the High Treason (Punishment) Act 1973 for subverting the constitution by show of force.

The petitioner, who is the PLF president, had made the federation of Pakistan, Gen Musharraf and corps commanders parties and requested the court to direct the federation to initiate action against the corps commanders and principal staff officers who on June 1 had subverted the Constitution and were liable to be penalised under Article 8 of the Constitution.

The petitioner contended that he had been prompted to move the petition after reading the newspapers on June 2 that the top military brass at a conference of corps commanders and principal staff officers held on June 1 at the GHQ took serious notice of ‘malicious campaign against state institutions launched by opportunists for their self interest’.

Comments Sought: The Lahore High Court on Friday sought para-wise comments from the Punjab health secretary and the Pharmacy Council president on a writ petition seeking registration of the people with a five-year experience of running drug shops as C Class pharmacists and allowing them to take examinations for registration as B category pharmacists.

Petitioners Muhammad and Ahmad submitted that the Punjab Pharmacy Council had been created under the Punjab Pharmacy Act 1967 with statutory responsibility to prepare and maintain the registers of pharmacy graduates, apprentices and category B-pharmacists and issue them registration certificates after conducting examinations. The people registered as C Class apprentices could enter the business of sale of drugs after five years experience under the Pharmacy Act provisions.

The petitioners submitted that the Punjab Pharmacy Council was not maintaining the C Class apprentices registers since 1981 with the result that people with five years experience of running drug shops could not register themselves for taking examinations for B Category pharmacists.

A number of eligible people, including the petitioners, had not been allowed to take examinations held in March despite submitting applications for registration as C Category pharmacists on account of failure of the council to fulfil its statutory duty of maintaining their registers.