ISLAMABAD: Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday continued hearing a case concerning the Faizabad dharna, which had considerably disrupted life in the twin cities in November last year.
The proceedings revolved mainly around the non-submission of a report authored by a committee headed by Senator Raja Zafarul Haq and comprising Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Senator Mushahidullah Khan.
The Raja Zafarul Haq committee report had sought to fix responsibility for the introduction of a controversial amendment to the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat declaration for electoral candidates in the Elections Act, 2017.
Considerably angered by the federal government’s reticence in producing the report, Justice Siddiqui, in a written order, gave the government a last chance to submit the report by February 20, saying the court will hear the case on a daily basis as soon as the government responds.
Once again warning all individuals concerned against non-compliance, the judge said he would issue contempt of court notices and even consider initiating contempt proceedings against the chief executive.
The judge had been told by Deputy Attorney General Raja Khalid Mehmood that the report was yet to be finalised as the interior minister was not in the country, to which Justice Siddiqui had pointed out that he had sought a copy of the report even if the interior minister had not signed off on it.
The defence secretary also presented himself before the court with the ministry’s own report on the matter, while the director general of the Intelligence Bureau also submitted a report on a ‘viral audio clip’ that had emerged after the protest.
“This case concerns the sanctity and finality of Prophethood, and no compromises can be made in this matter,” Justice Siddiqui warned before fixing the next hearing on February 20.
A few days ago, Justice Siddiqui had expressed his displeasure over the lack of a follow-up on directives issued to various parties, and had warned that he would serve officials concerned contempt of court notices if they did not comply with orders.
The judge had again ordered the defence secretary to submit a report on why Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa’s name was used in the agreement.
Published in Daily Times, February 13th 2018.
