LHC Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, passed the order on the petitions filed by Asif Hussain, Muhammad Asghar, Ahmad Masood Gujjar and Javed Iqbal Jafree.
The petitioners contended that the arrested American had committed a crime in Pakistan and so must be tried under Pakistani laws.
All the petitioners expressed their apprehension about the government succumbing to American pressure and releasing Davis on a diplomatic immunity plea. The petitioners submitted that they had learnt from media reports that the accused was being sent to Washington.
They alleged that the arrested US consulate employee was actually an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“A conspiracy is being hatched to send him back to the US,” a petitioner stated in his plea.
The four petitioners requested the court to direct the federal government to place Raymond Davis’ name on the Exit Control List (ECL) and order an independent judicial inquiry into the incident. They contended that the federation did not have the discretion to hand over the accused to the US without a trial.
They prayed the court to restrain the government from handing Davis over or removing him from the jurisdiction of the court till the criminal cases registered against him are disposed of.
After hearing preliminary arguments, the CJ asked deputy attorney general Naveed Inayet Malik and an assistant advocate general to seek instructions from the respondents and apprise the court on February 1 (Tuesday).
Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ