RAWALPINDI: Justice Asad Munir of the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court issued notices to the Chief of Air Staff, the deputy chief and the commanding officer on Thursday asking them to submit a written reply within two weeks on a petition filed by a former officer of the Pakistan Air Force.

Warrant officer Muhammad Naeem Khan, through lawyer Niaz Ahmed Inqalabi, maintained in his petition that he was forced to retire on Nov 26, 2006, after he defied orders to trim his beard.

He said he had been asking his superiors for increments in his salary, but one day he was asked to trim his beard. As he did not do so, he was served with a warning and subsequently a show-cause notice.

The petitioner said he was discriminated against and his fundamental rights were violated and prayed the court to direct the authorities to restore him.

About the maintainability of the petition against the armed forces, the lawyer maintained that it was not simply a writ, but a service matter where the petitioner had been discriminated against and his two mercy applications were set aside.

PETITION DISPOSED OF: Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh of the LHC disposed of a petition filed by the NWFP government against a decision to raise power tariff by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority because the petitioner withdrew the petition when the court was informed that Nepra had taken back its decision.