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KARACHI, July 31: Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed asked a petitioner on Tuesday to cite an injunction from the Quran or Sunnah that prohibited music, painting or photography, and adjourned the hearing of his plea for a ban on the screening of the movie ‘Khuda Ke Liye’ till Aug 10.
He was hearing the petition together with Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro as member of a division bench and made the observation when petitioner Saifullah Rabbani, claiming to be a religious scholar associated with Jamia Binori, contended that there were many edicts given against music, painting, photography and against the movie itself by ‘renowned religious institutions’.
The bench asked his counsel, Maqboolur Rehman, to cite a specific injunction from the Quran or Sunnah instead of relying on decrees or ‘fatwas’.
The petition says that the movie ‘distorts’ the true face of Islam by promoting western values, decrying the concept of Jihad. It also claims that the film had been banned in India and certain countries of Europe. Citing the federal and provincial governments, the TV channel ‘Geo’, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, the Censor Board as respondents, the petition seeks prosecution of all those involved in the production of the movie in any capacity.
Justice Faisal Arab of the Sindh High Court declined on Tuesday to pass an interim order to restrain a non-governmental organisation and others from campaigning against the conversion of a playground known as Webb Field into a commercial plot.
The plaintiffs Army Welfare Trust (AWT)and Makro Habib (Pakistan) Limited contended that columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee, NGO Shehri and others were out to ‘harass and malign’ them for allegedly converting an old amenity plot into commercial premises. The category was, in fact, changed by the federal government, which owned the plot, in 2002 before it was given to the AWT for commercial use.
A sub-lease was subsequently executed by the AWT in favour of Makro Habib (with an equity ratio of 70 per cent Dutch and 30 per Pakistani).
According to Shehri, the sub-lease violated a provision barring transfer of land to a foreign concern without prior permission in writing of the federal government.
The court adjourned the suit after briefly hearing Advocate Mushtaq Memon for the plaintiffs, Advocate Naimur Rahman for Mr Cowasjee and Ronald de Souza for ‘the cash-strapped’ Shehri.
