LAHORE
A division bench of the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, has summoned Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) President Muhammad Zaka Ashraf to appear in person on November 8 for contempt of court proceedings.
The court initiated contempt proceedings against Ashraf for misleading the public about the court, after a single bench declared his appointment unlawful and illegal. The division bench passed the order on a contempt of court petition by Muhammad Iqbal Khattak against Ashraf and Imtanan Shahid, editor of the Daily Khabrian, for publishing a misleading story on September 1, 2010.
The news report said the court had allowed Ashraf to continue as the ZTBL president by accepting his appeal, despite the fact that the court issued no such order until September 1. The court has also summoned Shahid to appear in person. The LHC Rawalpindi Bench had declared Ashraf’s appointment illegal on August 27, 2010, while hearing a petition by Iqbal Khattak.
The single bench passed the order after the petitioner proved that Ashraf had no prior banking experience and was not cleared for appointment as the ZTBL president by the State Bank of Pakistan because he did not meet the Fit and Proper Test criteria.
The petitioner had pleaded that Ashraf did not have the requisite qualification and his appointment was purely political. Later, Ashraf filed an intra-court appeal, challenging the single bench’s order against his appointment.
The appeal was fixed for hearing on September 2. On the date of hearing, the division bench suspended the order dated August 27, until September 15 and issued notice to the respondent for further proceedings. Thus, a stay was granted to Zaka on September 2.
But the Multan edition of Daily Khabrain ran a story on September 1, saying the LHC Rawalpindi Bench had given Ashraf a clean slate and allowed him to function as the ZTBL president. Khattak then filed a contempt of court petition to bring the matter to the court’s notice, questioning how could Ashraf claim that he had been allowed by the court to continue as the bank’s president, even before the bench heard his appeal.
Taking notice, the division bench of Justice Ruaf Ahmed Sheikh and Justice Ijaz Ahmed has summoned the respondents, Ashraf and Shahid, for November 8 for mocking the image and dignity of the court through a misleading story.
