LAHORE  - The Lahore High Court yesterday sought reply from the Punjab government in a petition seeking order for appointment on constitutional office of Advocate General Punjab.
A lawyer petition Noshab A Khan had filed the petition that since Jan 22, 2016, the seat was lying vacant. Seeking the court’s orders for immediate appointment, he submitted that the Advocate General was a constitutional post, and it could not be held vacant for more than a month.
After hearing the arguments, LHC Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh issued notice to the Punjab government and sought reply until March 21.
In another case, the LHC ordered the Punjab Inspector General (Prisons) to explain as to why a prisoner was kept behind the bar even after his acquittal by the superior court.
Petitioner Mahboob Alam was acquitted from murder charges in year 2009 and since then he was not released. In his plea, he prayed to the court to ask the authorities concerned over the matter. The court was adjourned until March 15.
In Koh-i-Noor diamond case, the LHC directed a law officer to argue on the maintainability of a petition for bringing the jewel back to Pakistan from the United Kingdom.
Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan fixed March 3 for the arguments of the federal government on petition of Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffrey.
Barrister Jaffrey had contended that the British had snatched Koh-i-Noor from Daleep Singh, grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and took to United Kingdom. The diamond became part of the crown of the incumbent Queen Elizabeth-II at the time of her crowing in 1953.
The petitioner pleaded that the Queen Elizabeth had no right on the Koh-i-Noor diamond as it was a cultural heritage of Punjab province and its citizens owned it in fact.
He asked the court to direct the government, being member of the Commonwealth countries, to bring the diamond back to Pakistan.
AGENCY ADDS: The Lahore High Court yesterday summons prosecutors of parties for arguments on the petition regarding getting back the foreign assets of about 64 prominent politicians including PM Nawaz Sharif, CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Javed Hashmi, Sheikh Rashid, Pervez Musharraf, Hamza Sharif, Asima Jehangir and others, getting affidavit from them and adjourned the case by March 8, 2016.
Justice Khalid Mahmood of LHC conducted the hearing of the case. During the course of the hearing, prosecutor of former President Pervez Musharraf, Major ® Akhter Shah adopted the stance that English written by petitioner was not understandable for me, therefore reply could not be filed and that I, in person wants to submit the reply on behalf of Pervez Musharraf.
“Pervez Musharraf is the common citizen of the country and he did not commit the money laundering. A baseless application has been filed against him”, he added.
The petitioner on this said that if Pervez Musharraf did not commit the money laundering, he should himself submit the affidavit instead of his prosecutor.
The petitioner further said that Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif, Pervez Musharraf, Chaudhry Pervez Ellahi, Imran Khan and other illegally transferred about 400 billion US $ which causes major loss to national exchequer adding that sons of Nawaz Sharif purchased about 149 properties in London while all the politicians including in the petitions have made country economically zero while making assets abroad.
“All the politicians included in the petitions have refused to transfer their money abroad so it is prayed that affidavit should be taken from them in this regard”, the petitioner concluded.