Islamabad High Court (IHC) has rejected a petition seeking contempt of court proceedings against Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leaders for “threatening judiciary”.
According to the details, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard the petition which was earlier filed by Advocate Ali Ijaz Buttar who sought contempt of court proceedings against Maryam Nawaz, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Rana Sanaullah, Marriyum Aurangzeb, and Atta Tarar for making anti-judiciary statements on social media.
During the hearing, Justice Mohsin Akhtar noted that since PDM leaders did not mention Islamabad High Court, the petition against PDM leaders is inadmissible. The petitioner was advised to approach the relevant forums – Supreme Court and Lahore High Court.
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On the other hand, Peshawar High Court was moved against the notification of cases against PDM leaders. A senior lawyer filed the petition seeking suspension of PTI-led KP government’s request to register cases against PDM leaders on the charge of spreading hate against state institutions.
To clarify, the provincial government had earlier decided to take action against the PDM leaders for making hateful statements against state institutions in the recent past. The provincial cabinet had allowed the registration of cases.
Moreover, the KP government, through a notification, empowered a government official in Dera Ismail Khan district to receive complaints from senior PTI leader Ali Amin Khan Gandapur or any other interested party for registration of cases falling under certain sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which otherwise require the permission from the provincial government to do so.
Therefore, the petitioner contended that the government misinterpreted Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for empowering an additional assistant commissioner (AAC) to receive complaints from former federal minister Ali Ameen Gandapur or any other interested party and lodge FIRs with the police.
PTI’s reaction
Needless to say, the developments have sparked a strong reaction from PTI. Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter to express his reservations.
“The judicial system in Pakistan is suffering from surprising discrimination. Take today’s decisions. According to the Islamabad High Court, the statement against the institutions is such a serious matter that they ignored the serious charge of Custodial Torture and handed over Shahbaz Gill to the police,” Fawad Chaudhry tweeted.
پشاور ہائیکورٹ کے ڈویژن بنچ کے نزدیک حکومت کا PDM رہنماؤں کیخلاف انھیں الزامات پر مقدمہ درج کرنے کا حکم اتنا بے وقعت ہے کہ حکومت کو نوٹس کئے بغیر کابینہ کا فیصلہ معطل کر دیا گیا، ثابت یہ ہوتا ہے کہ ملک میں قانون جج صاحبان کا نام ہے، جج قانون کے ماتحت نہیں قانون ججز کے ماتحت ہے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) August 26, 2022
“On the other hand, according to the division bench of Peshawar High Court, the order of the government to file a case against the PDM leaders on the charges against them is so worthless that the decision of the cabinet was suspended without notice to the government,” the PTI leader further added.
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