Notices issued on appeal against sheesha cafe ban

ISLAMABAD:

A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued a notice to the district administration and sought its response to an intra-court appeal challenging a judicial decision banning shisha cafes in the federal capital.

Shisha cafe owners requested the court to suspend the single bench's decision. However, the court observed that it would decide the matter after hearing the administration.

A division bench comprising Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas and Justice Ayaz Shaukat heard the intra-court appeal filed by shisha cafe owners against the single bench's decision imposing a ban on such establishments.

Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas observed that another high court decision had also been issued before the single bench's ruling.

"That decision had also directed the authorities to formulate rules. Shisha cafes had also been banned under that ruling. Then how were no-objection certificates (NOCs) issued?" he asked.

Counsel for the appellants, Adil Aziz Qazi, told the court that the NOCs had been issued by the administration.

He said the petitioners had invested millions of rupees after obtaining the NOCs and wanted permission to operate their businesses on the basis of those certificates. Justice Minhas observed that the court was issuing notices and would ascertain how NOCs had been issued without the formulation of rules.