IHC seeks govt response on judicial complex construction

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has called on the government to submit a report over the construction of the judicial complex today.

The secretaries of Interior and Law ministries as well as the Islamabad chief commissioner have been directed to appear before the court.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah issued orders for hearing on the petition filed regarding the establishment of new accountability courts on Tuesday.

The court said it was concerning that the complex was located on land owned by the Pakistan Works and Development.

Justice Minallah said Special Assistant to PM on Accountability Shehzad Akbar had assured to rebuild the complex in a hearing on December 24, 2020 but no one has even visited the place yet.

Quoting Akbar, the court said the Centre had allocated five acres of land for the new judicial complex. The next hearing of the case will be held on Thursday (tomorrow).

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Bar Council demanded the withdrawal of FIRs, contempt of court notices and disciplinary proceedings against the lawyers nominated in the IHC vandalism case. The PBC held a meeting on the demolition of lawyers' chambers in the federal capital on Tuesday.

The officials said a complete strike would be observed across the country on Thursday (tomorrow) to express solidarity with the lawyers facing action. In case of non-compliance with the demands, a nationwide meeting of lawyers would be convened in the first week of March, they warned. The PBC also “condemned the treatment of IHC with the law practitioners”. The council said only it possessed the authority to take action against lawyers involved in the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2021.