LAHORE: A sessions court on Saturday issued a notice to police on a petition seeking registration of a criminal case against national assembly’s former speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq for getting passed a bill about the rights of transgender persons.

A citizen, Humayun Khan, filed the petition through a counsel pleading that the bill passed by the national assembly hurt religious sentiments of a large section of the country’s population.

He said the bill in question had not been approved by the Council of Islamic Ideology before its presentation in the assembly.

The petitioner further stated that the 2018 session of the national assembly presided over by then speaker Sadiq passed the bill without a meaningful consultation and debate on it.

He alleged that the bill was against the Islamic values, which was a clear violation of the basic structure of the Constitution of Pakistan.

He contended that an application was filed with the police for registration of a first information report against the former speaker but no action had been taken in accordance with the law.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Mudassir Omar Bodla sought comments from the additional district complaint officer, the SP Investigation of the division concerned, on the petition by Sept 30.

The petitioner also arrayed CCPO Lahore as respondent in the petition.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2022