GILGIT, Jan 23: The Supreme Court on Tuesday admitted a petition filed against a decision of the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi bench, regarding relocation of headquarters of the newly-created district of Astore in Northern Areas.

The petitioner, Mohammad Ramzan, who is chairman of the Eidgah Union Council, Astore, had earlier filed a writ petition before the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court in May 2006 challenging a decision of the local administration regarding relocation of the district headquarters.

The Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas had created the Astore district in Northern Areas in November 2004 and made Eidgah its headquarters. But the local administration had proposed to make Gorikote the district headquarters.

Sources said the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench in September 2006 dismissed Mr Ramzan’s petition on the ground that Northern Areas did not fall in its jurisdiction as defined in Article 199 of the Constitution.

The petitioner challenged the impugned judgment of the Rawalpindi bench of the LHC in the Supreme Court saying the KANA ministry lied in the jurisdiction of the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi bench, and, therefore, it could entertain a petition against the ministry.

The petitioner’s counsel, Mohammad Ameen Jan, argued before the apex court that the Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas ministry enjoyed administrative, legislative and judicial powers regarding Northern Areas. And, therefore, an administrative action of the ministry could be challenged in the LHC, Rawalpindi bench, he added.

He contended that the Northern Areas Chief Court could not issue any direction against the federation of Pakistan because it did not have such an authority in the light of Article 199 of the Constitution.

A division bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Rana Bagwandas and Justice Hamid Ali Mirza, admitted the petition for regular hearing.

This is for the first time that the Supreme Court has admitted an administrative petition of NAs though it has given rulings on constitutional petitions. The SC court had also ruled in May 1999 that the people of Northern Areas were citizens of Pakistan and they could approach the apex court for fulfilment of their fundamental rights.