LAHORE: The Lahore High Court chief justice on Monday provisionally allowed functioning of a non-government organisation and restrained the government and police authorities from taking any coercive measure against the NGO and its staff.

The Punjab government had instructed South Asia Partnership-Pakistan (SAP-PK) to immediately stop its functioning accusing it of working against the National Action Plan (NAP) and operation Zarb-i-Azab.

During the first hearing, senior lawyer and rights activist Asma Jahangir argued that the allegations made in the impugned notices sent to SAP-PK by the government were misleading and illegal.

She said the allegation made against the organisation of producing a shadow report for the United Nations was incorrect and false. Even if such report was to be made, it was within the right of any organisation or individual to do so, the counsel added.

She further said the impugned notices sent by the respondents were a clear violation of many provisions of the Constitution including articles 10-A, 15, 16, 17 and 19.

Advocate Jahangir argued before the court that the respondent authorities failed to produce any evidence whether the petitioner-organisation was working against Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan. She stated that SAP-PK was a peaceful organisation having utmost respect and regard for the law and the Constitution. She said the petitioner should not be victimised in an abrupt and non-transparent manner. She asked the court to set aside the impugned notices for being illegal, discriminatory and ultra vires of natural principles of fairness and justice, and of the Constitution.

Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah stayed the impugned notices and summoned responsible officers from ministry of interior and Punjab home department on Jan 27. The chief justice restrained the respondents from harassing the petitioner-organisation and its staff.

PLEA TO CANCEL BAIL: Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali of the Lahore High Court will take up on Tuesday (today) a petition for cancellation of bail granted to son of a senior lawyer facing charges of making an attempt on the life of a female class fellow at a private law college and her little sister.

In May last, Khadija Siddiqui, 21, had gone to pick her younger sister Sofia, 6, from a school on Durand Road with their driver when suspect Shah Hussain attacked the girls with a knife. Khadija received critical injuries in the attack.

A judge of the LHC had dismissed pre-arrest bail of the suspect in September 2016 while a sessions court granted him post-arrest bail after two months.

The complainant challenged the grant of bail pleading that the sessions court passed the order without applying judicial mind as well as without paying any heed to the case evidence and documents.

Published in Dawn January 24th, 2017