Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, who penned the written order, noted that lower courts had already given a lenient sentence because of Haq’s young age. PHOTO: AFP
During the hearing, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar directed Sessions Judge Sohail Nasir to conduct a judicial inquiry and submit a report within ten days.
CJP takes suo moto notice of media persons being manhandled by Islamabad police
Justice Nisar also inquired from the deputy commissioner when Section 144 had been imposed in Islamabad. The deputy commissioner replied that the law has been in place since 2014. “On whose authority did you exercise it? Have you forgotten about human rights by imposing Section 144?” asked the the chief justice.
The chief justice further questioned if the deputy commissioner had prior knowledge regarding the usage of the law. “Section 144 is only for specific events,” observed the CJP. This is a black British law that allowed authorities to apprehend a group of five people or more on their own will, he added.
Justice Nisar further noted that while the law is implemented throughout the world, it is used in a different manner than implemented in Pakistan.
Senate muses over press freedom
The matter was also raised at the upper house of the parliament on Friday were Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyyum Aurangzeb clarified that a committee had been formed to investigate the violence on journalists. “The incident of violence on media persons is disappointed,” she stated.
Dwelling further on the freedom of press, Aurangzeb said the democratic voice was being silenced as the newspapers and television networks were being censored. “Voice of a three-time prime minister has been muzzled,” she said. Aurangzeb stressed that such incidents will continue if democracy compromised. “Mental torture should also be condemned,” she said. “For how long will we go hothe me due to fear of ‘someone’.”
Affirming with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, the members of Senate also condemned restrictions on news articles. “It is a reality that news articles are being restricted from being published,” observed Senator Raza Rabbani. “We have sacrificed against a black law.”
The senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader inquired about the law imposed to restrict publications. “If there a law to stop news, there must be a law to terminate it,” he remarked.
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