Rashid's umrah plea set for hearing

RAWALPINDI:

A division bench of the Lahore High Court's Rawalpindi Bench, comprising Justice Jawad Hassan and Justice Raza Ahmed Qureshi has dismissed the office objections to the early hearing of the intra-court appeal filed by former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

Rashid had appealed against being prevented from performing Umrah. The bench ordered that the appeal hearing be scheduled in mid-January immediately after the winter vacations. It also allowed the Interior Ministry to submit its response.

Rashid's lawyer Sardar Abdul Raziq said that because Rashid wants to go for Umrah, the appeal should be scheduled for early hearing. The office had objected to this. However, Justice Jawad Hassan dismissed the office's objections. On the other hand, the Deputy Attorney General's position was that there was urgency and that the request for early hearing should be rejected.

Dismissing the office's objections against the early hearing of the appeal, the court asked the ministry to submit a response. "Preventing anyone from going on Umrah is incompetency on the government's part. I have never been restricted from travelling abroad before. The government did not submit a response even today.