Govt Seeks Time: Public Defender plea put off

LAHORE:

The Punjab government on Friday again sought time from the Lahore High Court (LHC) for implementation of the Punjab Public Defender Act 2007, saying that the paper work for the Act has been completed and would be presented in the cabinet in its next meeting.

The advocate general made the statement before Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry in connection with a petition seeking implementation of the law.

Petitioner’s counsel Muhammad Azhar Siddique opposed the request for further adjournment saying that the government was using delaying tactics and wasting court’s time. He said that the government had failed to submit its formal comments despite the lapse of considerable time. The court, however, adjourned the hearing for first week of August.

Previously, the Punjab government had said that it was unable to implement the law due to shortage of funds.

Advocate Siddique said that the government had made no efforts to enforce the law.

He requested the court to direct the government to implement the said law .



Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2011.