ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Monday suspended the Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) orders to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding provision of its meeting minutes related to appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as caretaker Chief Minister Punjab to a citizen.
A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Aamer Farooq conducted hearing of a petition filed by the ECP.
Besides suspending the PIC order, the IHC bench also issued notices to the respondents and directed them to submit their response in this matter. In its petition, the ECP had challenged the PIC order wherein directions for providing information regarding minutes and details of ECP meeting regarding the appointment of caretaker CM Punjab were passed.
Earlier, the PIC had ordered the ECP to provide meeting minutes to a citizen under the Right of Access to Information Act 2017. However, the ECP challenged the order to disclose the meeting minutes, specifically related to the appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as the Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, in the high court.
During the hearing, the lawyer representing the ECP requested the court to suspend the PIC order.
Counsel for the petitioner also contended that the first two documents mentioned in the impugned orders do not pertain to the petitioner, hence no order could have been passed with respect to the same. He further contended that the document mentioned at serial No.3 is exempted under the law. In this behalf, the counsel took the Court through section 7 (b) of Right of Access to Information Act, 2017.
After considering the arguments, the court issued notices to all parties involved and also suspended the PIC orders. The court deferred the hearing of the case after the Eid-ul-Adha holidays.