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GILGIT, Jan 18: The Ministry of Kashmir and Northern Areas Affairs (KANA) has failed to constitute a court of appeals for the region. Despite the clear directive of the Supreme Court on Dec 16, 2003 , a notification in this regard has yet to be issued, the sources confirmed.
Legal experts here said the apex court had ordered to set up an appellate court in the region during a case titled Pervez Iqbal versus the Federation of Pakistan in civil petition No.910/003 on Dec 16, 2003.
The court in its order directed the federation to complete the formation of the court within one month and then transmit this appeal to the newly-constituted court in the region. But the one-month time fixed by the apex court expired on Jan 16, 2004, and the government failed to comply with the SC orders, the sources said.
The legal experts said the Supreme Court in his historic verdict dated May 28, 1999, had directed the federal government that the people of the region be provided their fundamental rights- to be governed by an elected representative and to access to the independent judiciary for the enforcement of their fundamental rights- within six months. But the government of Pakistan had also failed to provide the basic rights to the Northern Area people.
They said the government had filed a case against a former official of the now defunct China Trade Gilgit, Pervez Iqbal, in an accountability court of Gilgit, which had earlier convicted him on corruption charges.
Mr Iqbal had filed an appeal before the Northern Areas Chief Court against the decision of the Gilgit accountability court and the chief court reduced his punishment.
He preferred an appeal before the apex court, but it turned down the petition with the reason that the NAs did not fall within the appellate jurisdiction of the SC.
He filed another appeal before the Lahore high Court, which was also turned down on the same grounds. Mr Iqbal then filed an appeal before the apex court which, after hearing the case, directed the government to constitute the court of appeal in a month.
ANTI-POLIO DRIVE: The anti-polio campaign 2004 will be launched in the Northern Areas on Jan 20, said regional health officials.
They said that over 160,000 children of below five years of age will be administered anti-polio drops during the drive. For this purpose, 689 teams have been formed that will visit door-to-door to provide the polio drops, the officials said.
