Ex-CJP car case: IHC reserves verdict on government’s appeal

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday reserved verdict on the government’s intra-court appeal seeking withdrawal of bulletproof car provided to former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

An IHC bench comprising Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi and Justice Aamer Farooq reserved the verdict after parties concluded their arguments in the case.

On Monday, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Fazlur Rehman Niazi argued that the former CJP was provided with the bulletproof car for a period of three months with a condition that he would bear fuel and other expenses.

He said that it was envisaged that the former judge would arrange security for himself during this period but a single bench of IHC held that the ‘time-specific clause was unfeasible, unrealistic and discriminatory’. The judge had also directed the law ministry to bear expenses of the car’s maintenance.

According to record, over Rs4 million has been spent on the fuel and repair of the former top judge’s car since January 2014.

Though the former judge himself has not yet asked for security, but his newly established political party’s spokesperson Sheikh Ahsanuddin and Taufiq Asif in their personal capacity are demanding a bulletproof car for Chaudhry at government expense.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2016.