Skip to main content

Legal community slams use of force against ex-PM, asks govt to hold polls

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Cou­rt Bar Association (SCBA) on Wedn­esday condemned the use of excessive force against former prime minister Imran Khan in Lahore as well as alleged refusal of the government to provide adequate funds and support for holding provincial elections on the pretext of security concerns. Such a delay amounts to open violation of the March 1 Supreme Court judgement as well as the Constitution, says a joint statement issued by the SCBA president and secretary, Abid S. Zuberi and Muqtedir Akhtar Shabbir. Separately, members of the legal community opined that by obstructing his arrest, PTI activists and supporters were adding to their leader’s potential legal troubles. According to senior lawyer Raja Inam Ameen Minhas, police went to Mr Khan’s residence to execute an arrest warrant issued by a competent court and he was under obligation to cooperate with them. Lawyers say PTI supporters inviting more trouble for their leader by ‘obstructing arrest’ He said that the warrant may be discharged with the appearance of the PTI chairman in the relevant court; however, his resistance made the case more complicated as it could attract further offences from the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and even the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). He said sections 186-188 deal with “obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions” and “disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant”. He said that these offences entailed three to six months of imprisonment besides a Rs150,000 fine. Moreover, violence against police officials is also an offence under subsection “n” of Section 6 of ATA, he added. Advocate Supreme Court Kashif Ali Malik said that in addition to the above-mentioned offences, obstructing arrest is itself an offence. He cited PPC sections that may be invoked against the protestors and Mr Khan, including Section 172 (abs­c­o­nding to avoid service of summons or other proceeding), Section 173 (preventing service of summons or other proceeding, or preventing pub­lication thereof), Section 174 (non­-attendance in obedience to an order from public servant), Section 212 (harbouring offender), and Sec­tion 225 (resistance or obstruction to lawful apprehension of another person). SCBA demand The SCBA statement said it was high time that all stakeholders sit together and amicably resolve their political differences in accordance with the law in the best interest of the country. The statement said the association stood for the rule of law and the Constitution and dignity of the judgements or order of the courts. “We condemn all violations of law and any excesses committed by law-enforcement agencies or anybody who has taken the law in their own hands,” the statement said. Any form of violence is not acceptable in a democratic country governed by rule of law and the Constitution. The use of excessive force against former prime minister Imran Khan was also highly condemned, the statement said, regretting the method of service of warrants as highly arbitrary, vindictive and not in accordance with law. Therefore, such violence must be stopped forthwith, the SCBA suggested. It said the government must focus on ensuring that the Supreme Court’s judgement is implemented. In its March 1 order, the Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan to propose a date to President Dr Arif Alvi for holding elections in Punjab that is compliant with 90-day deadline. Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2023
http://dlvr.it/Skyxx4

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pragmatic steps taken to implement Axle Load Control regime on NH&MP

Islamabad: Ministry of Communications has taken pragmatic steps to implement the Axle Load Control regime on Motorways & National Highways in the country. Sole objective of this move is to control travelling of overloaded vehicles which lead to fatal accidents besides damaging the national asset of road network of billions of rupees.Prior to implementation of axle load control regime, a technical committee was formed, consisting of officers from Ministry of Communications and National Highway Authority which remained in constant contacts with transport community, Members of the Chambers of Commerce and stakeholders hailing from all the provinces. This technical committee visited their offices and held detailed discussions in series of meetings and took them into confidence to facilitate implementation of Axle Load Control regime. The stakeholders assured of their full cooperation and subsequently, implementation of Axle Load Control was realized which is in progress.It is worth to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

CJP questions how ‘clarification order’ made it to website

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa has raised nine questions in a letter to the Supreme Court’s registrar, seeking clarification on how a Sept 14 clarification order was uploaded to the top court’s website. The Sept 14 order, issued by eight judges led by senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for failing to implement the Supreme Court’s July 12 judgement, which declared the PTI eligible for reserved seats in parliament. In his letter dated Sept 21, the CJP wondered who directed the uploading of the Sept 14 clarification order on the Supreme Court’s website. His inquiry followed a note from the Deputy Registrar (Judicial), who flagged the issue of the order’s appearance on the website. The note questioned how the order was uploaded when no cause list had been issued, no notices had been sent to the parties, and the order had not been received by the deputy registrar’s office until 8pm on the...
Post a Comment
Read more

UN awards 2 Pakistani female peacekeepers for gender advocacy

The United Nations has awarded two Pakistani female peacekeepers with the Gender Advocacy Award for their “outstanding performance”, a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. In a statement issued on Thursday, the ISPR said the awards were presented to Major Sania Safdar, part of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus, and Major Komal Masood, who served in the Central African Republic, “for their outstanding performance and commitment in promoting the ideals of UN”. The accolades were presented by the under-secretary general in the UN’s Department for Peace Operations at its New York headquarters. “While serving in [an] international environment, both officers demonstrated exceptional professionalism [and] dedication,” the ISPR noted. It added that the two peacekeepers “made [a] significant contribution to Mission’s Peace and Stability efforts, especially with regards to advancing women’s meaningful participation in Peacekeeping Operations within the ...
Post a Comment
Read more