LAHORE: Contempt of court hearing remained the focal issue of the Lahore High Court proceedings last week.
A full bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah gave last chance to Lahore High Court Bar Association-Multan President Sher Zaman to ensure his appearance in the contempt of court proceedings for interference and obstruction of dispensation of justice in the Multan bench for vandalising the court and bringing it into hatred and ridicule. The sad part of the incident was when in the last hearing on August 2 a group of lawyers stormed the courtroom and shouted slogans against the top judge.
Later proceedings were held and Lahore High Court Bar Association President Zulfiqar Ali and other senior bar members gave an undertaking regarding appearance of Sher Zaman.
Now Punjab Bar Council formed a committee to ease the ongoing tension. The committee formed at a meeting of representatives from different lawyer bodies would comprise PBC Vice Chairman Malik Inayatullah Awan, Lahore High Court Bar Association President Zulfiqar Ali, LHCBA Vice President Rashid Lodhi and Lahore Bar Association President Chaudhry Tanvir. The committee had been tasked to meet leaders of LHCBA-Multan and the LHC chief justice to reach an amicable solution. This tragic incident took place on July 24. Sher Zaman and Qaiser Abbas Kazmi along with others had misbehaved with Justice Qasim Khan and obstructed judicial proceedings at Multan seat and later vandalised and ransacked the court premises and ripped off name plate of the judge.
However, Qureshi did not appear before the bench despite issuance of a show cause notice and subsequent non-bailable warrants rather his supporters barged into the courtroom of the chief justice. A general house meeting of the Multan Bar also decided that the president would not appear before the court.
Then came the case of mother Finnish origin Canadian national Mirjam Aberras who sought recovery of her two sons Qasim Dogar (17) and Jaffer Dogar (13) from their father Ghulam Mahmood Dogar, at present serving as DIG Punjab Highway Patrolling. The police repeatedly failed to recover two boys but this time Dogar’s counsel Zulfiqar Ali, who is also the LHCBA president, assured for a boys meeting with their mother in the bar. He honoured his commitment.
Justice Mujahid Mustaqeem Ahmed had directed the bar president to ensure presence of boys before court on August 7.
Even after Supreme Court verdict, the Panama Papers issue remained hot for the week. A petition filed before Supreme Court of Pakistan seeking direction to the ministry of interior to put the names of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his children Husain, Hassan, Maryam, her husband Safdar Awan and former finance minister Ishaq Dar on the Exit Control List (ECL).
The date for preliminary hearing of these petitions would be decided after the apex court office put it before the chief justice without raising any objection on its maintainability.
The talk of the country, PTI MNA Ayesha Gulalai disclosure against her party head Imran Khan also moved to the court as a petition filed seeking disqualification of Gulalai for levelling ‘baseless’ allegations against her party chairman. It had yet to place for preliminary hearing.
During the past week, Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza allowing Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to implement its 2016 admission regulations for medical and dental colleges for new admissions. In another case, the judge extended stay against levy of Rs 135 per passenger as check-in charges by Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on a private airline.
There was a sigh of relief for law students as a division bench of Lahore High Court suspended the five-year programme for Literally Legum Baccalaureus (bachelor of legislative law-LLB) degree at all private law colleges affiliated to universities and also ordered to restore evening classes of law. Bench held that the order of the suspending the five-year programme would be enforced in new admissions.
Bench allowed the universities to run five-year LLB programme at their constituent law colleges. The bench postponed further hearing of the petitions for a date to be fixed by the LHC registrar office. The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) had temporarily been stopped from recovery of taxes.
An objection appointment of a retired bureaucrat Shoiab Bin Aziz as press secretary to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had also been raised and on inter-court appeal the court sought reply from the Punjab government. The next week had to seek the fate of Multan bar president and two boys who were allegedly kidnapped by their father. Justice Tariq Abbasi would also take up a petition for the enforcement of fundamental rights of special persons (disabled person) who has been laid off from the ministry of Jammu and Kashmir affairs department without any legal justification.
Published in Daily Times, August 7th 2017.
