SC bill raises hopes of ex-premiers

Nawaz, Gilani may file appeals against their convictions, if legislation turns to law

ISLAMABAD:

The passage of the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Bill 2023 on Wednesday has raised hopes of former premiers Nawaz Sharif and Yousuf Raza Gilani to file appeals against their convictions as they faced suo motu proceedings initiated by the chief justice of Pakistan.

Several others, who were convicted in suo motu cases during the tenures of former CJPs Iftikhar Chaudhry and Mian Saqib Nisar, are also expected to benefit if the bill becomes law.

Sources said people who were affected by suo motu proceedings during the tenures of ex-CJPs Chaudhry and Nisar, respectively, would be able to challenge the Supreme Court’s verdicts against them within a month subject to the bill turning into law.

The people affected by suo motu proceedings include estranged PTI leader Jahangir Tareen and the residents of the now-demolished Nasla Tower in Karachi.

In November 2021, with sullen faces and teary eyes, residents of Nasla Tower were racing against the deadline to vacate the building on the orders of the Supreme Court.

The top court had ruled on demolishing the building built partly on the service lane in the Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society.

Also read: Bench orders postponement of suo motu notice until amendments in SC rules

The builder had connived with government officials, who had turned a blind eye to the illegal construction.

The victims of the building scam paid inflated wages to the workers to move their belongings on the day of the deadline. The loading vehicles were brought on the 4th floor parking space of the Nasla Tower to facilitate evacuation.

Drivers of pickups and minitrucks kept making rounds throughout the day till late in the evening to haul away the belongings of the people who had made the mistake of buying or renting out apartments of a building built illegally by the construction company with the connivance of Sindh government officials.

The labourers used the lift to bring their valuable home appliances including refrigerators, air conditioners, furniture, decorative items, kitchen ware and pile them in the vehicles which were immediately shifted.

In December 2021, an FIR registered at Ferozabad police station nominated officers of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society (SCHS), and other relevant departments for allowing the illegal construction of Nasla Tower.

Earlier this month, an anti-corruption court in Karachi indicted 18 people including a former director general of the SBCA as well as the director of the design department in the Nasla Tower case.

The right to appeal would apply to suo motu cases earlier than those decided during the tenures of these former CJPs.

Those affected by these proceedings initiated under Article 184(3) would be able to file an appeal against the SC verdicts against them within 30 days.