Lahore High Court Justice Azmat Saeed expressed strong displeasure on the delay in filing a reply by the federal government on the petition of Jamat ud Dawa Chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed against US drone attacks in Pakistan and the suspension of NATO supplies to Afghanistan through Pakistan.
On Wednesday Deputy attorney general Zia ul Qamar appearing before the court sought more time to file a reply as he had done earlier.
Upon this the judge remarked that the federal government should not tease the court any further because the court has already waited for their response.
With these remarks the judge adjourned the hearing till September 30 with directions that it should be last chance for seeking adjournments for government’s reply. Hafiz Saeed through his counsel A K Dogar advocate claimed the government was using delay tactics and was wasting the courts time.
In the petition Saeed sought court directions for the government to execute a resolution passed by joint session of the parliament against drone attacks of USA in Pakistan and stoppage of NATO supplies to Afghanistan through Pakistani soil.
He asked the court to pass directions to the federal government to stop preemptive drone attacks which were an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty.
Saeed said a joint session of the parliament held on May 13 and 14 had passed a resolution with full consensus that one sided drone attacks from USA shall not be allowed by the Government of Pakistan. He said the resolution also pledged that the Pakistan government shall cut NATO supplies to Afghanistan though its territory if the USA continued drones attacks.
He said about 10 people innocent people were killed by a USA drone attack in Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan, in Pakistan, the very next day in complete disrespect of the resolution.
Citing provision of the law and articles of the constitution, Hafiz Saeed said it was the gpvernment’s responsibility to protect the life and property of the citizens by taking all steps. Hafiz Saeed stressed the need to implement the joint resolution passed in the parliament.
Ashiana hearing adjourned:
Lahore High Court adjourned proceedings in a petition challenging Ashiana Housing Scheme balloting process on Wednesday till September 13.
The petitioner’s counsel on Wednesday appearing before the court filed an additional CM application.
Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry directed the Punjab government law officer to examine the application and argue the case on next hearing.
The petition was filed by Muhammad Iftikhar Hussain submitting that he applied for a 5-marla house in Ashiana Housing Scheme and deposited a sum of Rs 890 in Bank of Punjab. However, no receipt or computer number was issued to him despite a period of six months passing.
The petitioner contended that his name was not entered in the balloting computer. He alleged that a secret ballot was held on May 1 wherein applicants were not given a chance to participate and houses were allotted through favouritism. He said that the ballots’ results were not announced despite a period of one and half month passing was another proof of malafide intentions.
He asked the court to stop the implementation of the balloting and issue directions for a fresh ballot at a public place without the use of computers.
Earlier, the Punjab government informed the court through a written statement that a transparent and lucid procedure was adopted to select deserving people through the computerized balloting and all winning applicants had been informed and none had objected to process.
