Incitement to murder: Sanaullah fails to accept SC summons

Staff claims he is out of the country, Awan wants him to appear in person.

ISLAMABAD:

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah’s staff has declined to receive a summons from the Supreme Court, claiming he is out of the country.

The court notice had been issued to Sanaullah following an application by former Federal Law Minister Babar Awan, who had asked Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to form a judicial commission to investigate the Punjab law minister’s declaration that Awan deserved to be put to death.

Justice Javed Iqbal was presiding over the proceedings of the case on Thursday. Ramzan Chaudhry, Awan’s lawyer asked the court to hold Sanaullah in contempt after the court was informed of his absence.

Chaudhry also argued that the notice should specify that Sanaullah is required to appear in person so that he would not send other government functionaries, such as Punjab Additional Advocate-General Razzaq A Mirza in his place.

Justice Iqbal agreed with Awan’s lawyers and reissued the notice, asking Sanaullah to appear in person on July 18.

Missing persons’ case

The federal secretaries of the interior and defence appeared before Justice Iqbal in his chamber on Thursday and submitted their responses to allegations by a woman that her husband was being held in illegal detention by the government for the past five years.

Amna, the wife of Masood Janjua, claimed in a hearing on June 29 that her husband was missing since 2006 and was alive, albeit in illegal detention. Even though Additional Attorney-General KK Agha responded to the allegation, claiming that Janjua had been killed in 2006, the Supreme Court summoned the interior and defence secretaries to provide an answer about Janjua’s whereabouts.

The testimony of the two federal secretaries was not disclosed, but Amna Janjua, who was present in Justice Iqbal’s chamber along with the two senior civil servants, said “I am hopeful by the development where one week has been given to both the secretaries to submit reports.”



Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2011.





font-fa�$l:F�s��mA Book"; color:black;letter-spacing:-.25pt'>Meanwhile, Tawakal and Saleem Kapoorwala have yet to pay Rs140.9 million for Naya Daur Motors, which they bought in 1993.

 

Kapoorwala also owes the government another Rs107.6 million for Balochistan Wheel, an automobile parts manufacturer, that he bought in 1992 for Rs276 million. The company, listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange, has earned a net income of Rs601 million over the last six years alone.



Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2011.