Islamabad - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will take up three important cases including Lakhvi’s bail, Mumtaz Qadris’ appeal against his death sentence in Salman Taseer murder case and NAB’s petition against acquittal of Asif Ali Zardari in corruption references in the week starting today (Monday).
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Noor-ul-Haq N Qureshi will Monday (today) resume the hearing of petition moved by operational commander of banned outfit Laskhar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) against his detention orders after an anti-terrorism court (ATC) of Islamabad granted him bail in Mumbai terrorists attack.
Lakhvi is operational chief of the banned militant outfit LeT and an alleged mastermind of the November 26, 2008 attacks in Mumbai. After grant of post-arrest bail to Lakhvi on December 18, 2014 by ATC judge Syed Kausar Abbas Zaidi against one million surety bonds, the federal government had immediately issued his detention orders for 30 days under section ‘3’ of the maintenance of public orders (MPO) those were further extended on January 18.
Similarly, a division bench (DB) of IHC consisting of Justice Noor-ul-Haq N Qureshi and Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui will hear Mumtaz Qadri’s petition challenging his death sentence in the murder case of former governor Punjab Salman Taseer on January 27 (Tuesday).
Mumtaz Qadri was a bodyguard assigned to protect former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer but Qadri gunned down Taseer outside a restaurant in Islamabad’s Kohsar Market on Jan 4, 2011. He was awarded the death sentence by a Rawalpindi ATC on Oct 1, 2011. But the execution of the sentence was stayed by an IHC division bench on Oct 11, 2011 when Qadri, through his counsel Khawaja Mohammad Sharif, a former chief justice of the Lahore High Court, had challenged the conviction.
On January 29, the same bench will also take up National Accountability Bureau (NAB) application against the acquittal of former president Asif Ali Zardai by an Accountability Court (AC) in corruption references against him.
The National Accountability Bureau authorities have approached the IHC challenging the Accountability Court’s (AC) verdict about acquittal of former president Asif Ali Zardari in two corruption cases.
The National Accountability Bureau has moved the IHC through its Prosecutor General Waqas Qadeer Dar and challenged AC decision in which it had acquitted Zardari in two corruption references including ARY Gold and Ursus tractors.
In the application, NAB has cited Zardari as respondent and pleaded the court to declare verdict of AC dated December 12 as null and void.
The National Accountability Bureau prosecutor has also requested the court to permit them to produce witnesses and evidences against Zardari before the court in this matter.
Earlier, Accountability Court (AC) Islamabad judge Muhammad Bashir had acquitted former President and PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zadrdari in two corruption cases as the NAB failed to give any proof and produce any witness.
The counsel for the former president had contended before the court that the main accused in these references had already been acquitted, so a co-accused could not be tried and should be acquitted under the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance 1999.