LAHORE - The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday admitted appeal against acquittal of convict  Shah Hussain by the Lahore High Court in Khadija Stabbing  case for regular hearing.

The bench also asked Shah Hussain to submit surety bond.The two-member bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa heard the appeal filed by the victim Khadija Siddiqui  at the Supreme Court Lahore Registry and ordered to fix the matter after summer vacations. During the proceedings, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa questioned the reason that Khadija Siddiqui and her sister blamed Shah Hussain while leaving the whole world aside.

Justice Khosa asked from Shah Hussain's counsel that both were student of the law and after the incident, both would have learned a lot about the law.

He further observed that the incident took place during the daylight, if it had taken place at night then there could be space for doubt.

Khadija Siddiqui, student at a private law college, was allegedly attacked by her class fellow Shah Hussain on May 3, 2016 near Shimla Hill where she along with driver had gone to pick her younger sister from a school.

On July 29, 2017, a judicial magistrate handed down seven  years imprisonment to Shah Hussain for stabbing his classmate  Khadija Siddiqui. However, a district and sessions judge reduced Shah Hussain's seven year imprisonment term to five years on an appeal by him. Shah Hussain had challenged the verdict before the Lahore High Court who acquitted the convict on benefit of doubt.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had taken suo motu notice over the acquittal of convict by the Lahore High Court but disposed of the same after it was informed that the victim had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the acquittal, with a direction to fix the matter before bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa. In another case about the dual nationality of the ambassadors appointed abroad, the Supreme Court directed Federal Investigation Agency to submit complete record of the officials having dual nationality.

The three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar passed the order while hearing a case about dual nationality of the ambassadors holders at the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry.

“No law for the officials’ dual nationality,” the CJP remarked.

Taking up sugar mills case, the Supreme Court directed sugar mills’ owners to make 100 per cent payments to the farmers.

The mills’ lawyers told the Supreme Court that  about 90 to 95 per cent payments had been made to the farmers and requested for more time for the payment of the remaining dues. However, the court refused to grant more time and directed them to ensure payment to remaining farmers by Thursday (today) and submit a compliance report.

In a separate case, the Supreme Court expressed serious concerns over allocation of government houses to ineligible houses on Wednesday. “People who are eligible to reside in government houses are waiting while the ineligible are enjoying the perks,” the CJP remarked.  Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Saeed who was present in the courtroom said that 62 persons had obtained stay orders from the civil courts.

At this, the CJP directed him to submit a list of the ineligible people who were enjoying stay at the government houses and summoned record of all stay orders obtained from the civil courts.  The CJP said that some people had further rented out the government houses and had been making money out of the property they did not own.