Police backtrack on sheesha law
LHC disposes of plea after police say cafes were raided for ‘immoral activities’.
LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court on Monday allowed two sheesha cafes to reopen and directed the city police chief to follow the law when dealing with restaurants.
The two cafes had been closed after police raided them. Capital City Police Officer Aslam Tareen told the court that the police had not raided the cafes for serving sheesha, but because they were hosting “immoral activities”. He said some people had been arrested at the cafes as well.
Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain, after the submissions made by the CCPO, disposed of the petition. He directed Tareen to consult restaurant union representatives before conducting raids on cafes. Tareen assured the court that the police would act in accordance with the law on the matter.
Petitioners Danial Arif and Muhammad Arif Saleem had submitted that on March 17, a police team led by the station house officer of Liberty Market police station raided Arif’s Sheikhoo’s Café on MM Alam Road and Saleem’s Café Life at Saeed Ahmed Block and stopped them from serving sheesha.
They said they asked the police to show them any government letter or notification banning sheesha, to which the policemen replied that the CCPO had sent instructions by wireless to police to raid all sheesha cafes in Lahore. They also confiscated two sheeshas from Sheikhoo’s Cafe and four from Cafe Life.
The petitioners said the police action was illegal and without jurisdiction and should therefore be set aside. They contended that the police were trying to blackmail them and that there were no illegal activities going on at the cafes. He said his clients were prominent businessmen and the raids had hurt their reputations.
The petitioners asked the court to declare the police raids on their cafes illegal, to direct the police to refrain from conducting further raids, and to order criminal cases against the police officials behinds the raids.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2011.
The Lahore High Court on Monday allowed two sheesha cafes to reopen and directed the city police chief to follow the law when dealing with restaurants.
The two cafes had been closed after police raided them. Capital City Police Officer Aslam Tareen told the court that the police had not raided the cafes for serving sheesha, but because they were hosting “immoral activities”. He said some people had been arrested at the cafes as well.
Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain, after the submissions made by the CCPO, disposed of the petition. He directed Tareen to consult restaurant union representatives before conducting raids on cafes. Tareen assured the court that the police would act in accordance with the law on the matter.
Petitioners Danial Arif and Muhammad Arif Saleem had submitted that on March 17, a police team led by the station house officer of Liberty Market police station raided Arif’s Sheikhoo’s Café on MM Alam Road and Saleem’s Café Life at Saeed Ahmed Block and stopped them from serving sheesha.
They said they asked the police to show them any government letter or notification banning sheesha, to which the policemen replied that the CCPO had sent instructions by wireless to police to raid all sheesha cafes in Lahore. They also confiscated two sheeshas from Sheikhoo’s Cafe and four from Cafe Life.
The petitioners said the police action was illegal and without jurisdiction and should therefore be set aside. They contended that the police were trying to blackmail them and that there were no illegal activities going on at the cafes. He said his clients were prominent businessmen and the raids had hurt their reputations.
The petitioners asked the court to declare the police raids on their cafes illegal, to direct the police to refrain from conducting further raids, and to order criminal cases against the police officials behinds the raids.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2011.