MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court has issued a notice to the law, justice and parliamentary affairs minister, Mian Abdul Waheed, seeking an explanation for his interpretation of a court directive in a case involving the State Subject certificate of his cabinet colleague, Asim Sharif Butt.

The notice was issued on a petition filed by PML-N’s Syed Shoukat Ali Shah, a four-time MLA and former minister, who has long challenged the legitimacy of Mr Butt’s State Subject certificate.

Elected from a Kashmiri refugees’ constituency in Pakistan, Mr Butt is minister for sports, youth, and culture.

In February 2024, the AJK High Court held that the certificate issued to Mr Butt by the Deputy Commissioner (Rehabilitation) had been issued in error.

Mr Butt subsequently challenged this verdict in the Supreme Court, which in December last year directed the Deputy Commissioner to conduct inquiry with an “open and independent mind” without being influenced by the High Court’s observations.

The DC completed the inquiry and submitted his report within three months, which concluded that the State Subject certificate issued to Mr Butt was invalid and recommended its cancellation by the competent authority.

The report was submitted to both the High Court and the Supreme Court. The High Court directed the government to take appropriate action within two months—a condition that was later set aside by the apex court, which instead instructed that the matter be decided expeditiously.

However, on June 2, the law minister recorded a note on the case file, raising doubts over the independence of the inquiry.

He said since the DC had cited the High Court’s observations repeatedly in his report, it raised the question of whether the inquiry was conducted in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directive.

Furthermore, he said the DC had relied on documents submitted by the parties and raised question that whether any independent investigation was conducted at all.

On June 10, PM Haq endorsed his observations but with the condition that the matter be placed before the cabinet for approval.

It was learnt that the cabinet had decided to refer the issue to the Senior Member Board of Revenue for further examination.

On June 26, after learning of these developments, Mr Shah approached the Supreme Court, seeking contempt proceedings against eight officials, including the premier and the law minister, for “wilful, deliberate, and malicious disobedience” of the apex court’s December 2024 order.

Taking up the matter, a full bench of the court ordered the issuance of a notice to law minister, asking him to explain his interpretation of the court’s directive.

According to a court official, the case will be taken up by the bench after the summer vacation, which ends in the second week of October.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2025