LAHORE
The Lahore High Court on Monday issued notice to Punjab Law Minister Rana Mashhood, Punjab Inspector General Police, Lahore CCPO to submit reply on a contempt petition for illegally detaining Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek workers across the Punjab.
Justice Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah of the LHC passed this order and adjourned further proceedings until September 18.
As the proceedings commenced, the petitioner’s counsel argued that LHC had restrained Punjab police from detaining political workers illegally but the government did not comply with orders of the court and started crackdown against PTI and PAT workers across the province. He said that police had detained a large number of PTI and PAT workers while such act of the government is tantamount to contempt of court.
He pointed out that Law minister Rana Mashood, IGP Mushtaq Sukhera, Lahore CCPO Amin Waynis and DIG (Operations) Dr.Haider Ashraf are responsible for arrest of political workers. He pleaded the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against them. Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court directed a law officer to come up with final arguments on a petition challenging illegal detention of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers.
Law officer Wali Muhammad while representing the Punjab government appeared before the court and contended that the government detained the PAT workers due to their possible involvement in anti state activities.  He told the judge that the government had the powers to detain any person for likely involvement in illegal activities.  He pleaded the court to give him time to submit exact numbers of the arrested workers.
Justice Joseph adjourned hearing for Tuesday (today) and asked the officer to come up with complete arguments.
Earlier, Advocate Ishtiaq Chaudhry filed argued on behalf of the PAT and said the government had been victimizing party workers on political grounds. He said the government detained at least 72 workers of the party and was not producing them before any court law.
He asked the court to set aside detention of the workers and order the government to release them.
BAIL APPLICATION DISMISSED: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday dismissed a bail petition of an accused involved in a scam of Rs86 million taken from innocent people in the name of plots in a controversial housing scheme near Pattoki city.
As the proceedings commenced, the accused counsel told the judge that his client Faiz Ahmad was not involved in any kind of plundering and cheating; he was just an employee with the party which had direct deal with the real owners of a piece of land measuring 269 kanal and 14 marlas.
 He said his boss Jameel had the said deal with Bashir and two others, the real owners of the land to build a housing scheme. Later, he said, Dost Muhammad Housing Scheme was established. He said he was falsely implicated in the case he had nothing to do with.
However, an officer representing the NAB told the bench that Faiz and three others including his previous boss Jameel had been directly involved in establishing a fake housing scheme in Pattoki and cheated people by promising them of small plots for their houses.
The officer said but unfortunately there had been no scheme in government records and Faiz and three others accused looted people by getting millions of rupees in this regard. About 102 people were affected by these people who nether were given the ownership of the plots they had applied for and nor the money they had paid.  After hearing both sides, the division bench headed by Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi dismissed the bail petition.