IHC seeks names of transporters operating without licences

Court suggests Faizabad terminals cannot be vacated until new, permanent terminals are built

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD: The high court on Monday sought details of transporters operating without licences even as it remarked that until the new bus terminals are built, bus stands operating near Faizabad cannot be evicted.

This was directed on Monday by a single-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), led by Justice Aamer Farooq, as he heard a case about encroachment in the federal capital and illegal bus terminals.

During Monday’s hearing, the court was told that no problems were being created for commuters due to the presence of bus terminals at Faizabad.

Justice Farooq, though, became angry and told the lawyer that if they wished to talk amongst themselves, they should do so outside the courtroom.

Moreover, the court asked how could it pass an order about Pir Wadhai, which lies outside of its jurisdiction in Rawalpindi.

Instead, the IHC directed the Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA) to submit to the court a written list of transporters who lack a valid licence.

Justice Farooq further sought names of those transporters who were operating illegal bus stands.

For this purpose, the ITA representative sought time from the court to submit a written reply on the matter.

The court allowed the request and adjourned the case for a week.

Ex-CJP’s land

An additional district and sessions judge in Rawalpindi on Monday turned down a request for interim bail from a man who is accused of grabbing the land of a former chief justice and allegedly firing on his son. The suspect, though, managed to flee despite the presence of a heavy contingent of police.

The court on Monday heard the case of forcible occupation of a plot owned by the former chief justice of Pakistan Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui in Murree and the firing on his son.

The suspect, Irfanullah Kundi, had been booked by the Murree police on November 17, 2018, that he and his accomplices had forcibly occupied the land of the former chief justice. When CJP Siddiqui’s son went to visit the plot, he came under a gun attack from the suspects.

The court turned down the interim bail application and directed the police to arrest Kundi. The suspect, though, fled the court while the police watched on.

Kidnapping accused acquitted

An anti-terror court on Monday acquitted the former deputy commissioner of Peshawar Ibrahim Khattak, Ghouri Town Owner Ali Akbar, his two sons Jahangir and Safeer Akbar and eight other suspects of allegedly kidnapping Muhammad Iqbal and his daughter Quratulain and demanding a ransom of Rs700,000.

The court held that the prosecution had failed to prove their case. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2019.