LAHORE - The Lahore High Court on Monday directed the petitioner’s counsel to get prepared for arguments in the writ petition he filed against the imposition of Rs14,994 taxes on the Haj and Umrah tickets.

In the petition, Naheel Javed Kahloon has made the Federation of Pakistan, the secretary and director general of Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan International Airline (PIA), Air Blue Pvt Ltd and Shaheen Air International Limited as respondents.

The government has imposed SP Tax of Rs1,500; RG3 Tax of Rs5,000; XZ Tax of Rs1,166; YD Tax of Rs1,166; 102 Tax of Rs2836; and E3 Tax of Rs245 totaling Rs14,994, the court was told in the petition.

Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh heard the petition which states that the government was is responsible for the betterment and improvement of the civil aviation sector of Pakistan. He said the government is also responsible for the formation of aviation policy for making guideline for the civil aviation of the country where as it has failed to implement and formulate a successful civil aviation policy for the industry.

He added that it is duty of the state to provide easy and cheap travelling ways for the performance of religious duties whereas the government has failed to provide cheap and easy travelling facility to perform the religious practices.

He said, “On April 7, 1972, the National Assembly of Pakistan appointed a committee to prepare a draft of the permanent constitution of Pakistan whereas a bill was introduced by the committee in the assembly on February 2, 1972. The assembly passed the bill on 19th April 1973 and at last the constitution came into force on August 14, 1973. The constitution provides for the protection and preservation of Islamic concept of life. It also attempts to propagate and implement the basic teachings of Islam.”

The petitioner further said, “It is duty of the state to provide favourable conditions for its citizens to exercise their religious activities whereas the enforcement of additional taxes by the government on Haj and Umrah tickets are in violation of the Islamic provisions of the constitution.”

However, he said, the government has imposed illegal and unlawful taxes on the tickets of the Haj and Umrah which are in contradiction to the Islamic provisions of the Constitution. Any act of the government in contradiction to the Islamic provisions of law has no value in the eyes of law, he argues. He is of the view that the government has imposed the taxes on the citizens without any legal justification as the imposition of taxes on Haj and Umrah tickets have not been verified from the competent authority.

He said that the government has illegally and unlawfully imposed these taxes on the tickets without any legal justification. He further said that the imposition of taxes has resulted in increase of fairs of Haj and Umrah tickets which is illegal and unlawful.

He prayed that the court may kindly set aside the taxes imposed by the government on air tickets for the performance of Haj and Umrah, declaring it null and void.