The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has rejected government’s plea seeking court to not hear the cases pertaining to human rights under Article 199 of the Constitution.
While heading a single IHC bench during the course of hearing of objections raised by the federal government over different constitutional petitions filed against enforcement of Section 245, Justice Athar Minnullah said, “We cannot stop hearing of human rights related cases in the face of invocation of Article 245. The hearing will be continued under Article 199. No one can be allowed to usurp the fundamental rights. Courts are fully entitled to hear human rights cases as they determine their powers on their own. No reasons have been advanced in the notification for calling in army. How can the government suspend fundamental rights of the citizens?”
Additional Attorney General (AAG) Tariq Khokhar told the court that Article 245 of the Constitution has been invoked in Islamabad. The army has been called in under the directives of federal government and prime minister. No court can hear this matter under sub Section 1 of Article 245 and petitions on human rights in respect of the area where army is called in cannot be filed in high courts under Subsection 3 of Article 245. If they are filed they cannot be heard.
AAG tried to present before court the decisions given by the courts with reference to this matter from 1977 up till now.
The court asked him not to present these decisions as they were given during martial law regimes. “It will be better you do not present them. Come what may, we will hear the routine petitions filed under Article 199 of the Constitution.”
It may be recalled that federal government issued notification on July 24 for invocation of Article 245 in Islamabad. Some constitutional petitions were filed in IHC in this regard on July, 25 and federal government had raised objections over them.
These objections were heard Tuesday and were rejected by the court.