Saleem Shahzad: SC summons federal secretaries over commission formation
CJ hears PFUJ petition requesting the court to form a high-powered commission, hearing adjourned till June 20.
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court on Friday summoned the Secretaries of Law, Interior and Information over an application filed for the formation of a commission to inquire into journalist Saleem Shehzad’s murder.
The application filed by Supreme Court Bar Association President Asma Jehangir requests the court to form the commission. The application has been filed on behalf of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), who rejected the commission filed by the government on Thursday.
The government's nominee to head a commission to probe journalist Saleem Shahzad’s murder, Supreme Court judge Mian Saqib Nisar, refused to lead investigations shortly after his nomination on Thursday.
Nisar said he would not undertake the job because Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani did not consult Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry prior to nominating him, in violation of established judicial norms.
After the proceedings, Asma Jehangir told the media that the request for a high-powered commission is justified. She said only intelligence agencies have the capability to erase cell phone records, adding that the inquiry commission must be formed with the consultation of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard the application and adjourned the hearing till June 20.
Hundreds of journalists from across the country marched on the Constitution Avenue in the federal capital on Wednesday before staging a 24-hour sit-in next to the Parliament House, demanding that the government form a judicial commission headed by a Supreme Court judge to probe the killing of Saleem Shahzad.
Saleem Shehzad who was the Asia Times Online Pakistan bureau chief was kidnapped from Islamabad on May 29. His body was found from Mandi Bahuddin on May 31.
The Supreme Court on Friday summoned the Secretaries of Law, Interior and Information over an application filed for the formation of a commission to inquire into journalist Saleem Shehzad’s murder.
The application filed by Supreme Court Bar Association President Asma Jehangir requests the court to form the commission. The application has been filed on behalf of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), who rejected the commission filed by the government on Thursday.
The government's nominee to head a commission to probe journalist Saleem Shahzad’s murder, Supreme Court judge Mian Saqib Nisar, refused to lead investigations shortly after his nomination on Thursday.
Nisar said he would not undertake the job because Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani did not consult Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry prior to nominating him, in violation of established judicial norms.
After the proceedings, Asma Jehangir told the media that the request for a high-powered commission is justified. She said only intelligence agencies have the capability to erase cell phone records, adding that the inquiry commission must be formed with the consultation of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard the application and adjourned the hearing till June 20.
Hundreds of journalists from across the country marched on the Constitution Avenue in the federal capital on Wednesday before staging a 24-hour sit-in next to the Parliament House, demanding that the government form a judicial commission headed by a Supreme Court judge to probe the killing of Saleem Shahzad.
Saleem Shehzad who was the Asia Times Online Pakistan bureau chief was kidnapped from Islamabad on May 29. His body was found from Mandi Bahuddin on May 31.