Hajj quota case: LHC issues notices to Religious Affairs Ministry

PIA had allegedly abetted Hajj Group Organisers by advertising to deposit fees for reserving seats.

LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Monday issued notice to the Religious Affairs Ministry and others for June 27 on an application seeking directions to restrain PIA for illegally abetting Hajj Group Organisers (HGOs) by reserving seats for Hujjaj.    

The chief justice passed orders on a civil miscellaneous application filed by Ashfaq Ahmad Mirza through his counsel Muhammad Azhar Siddique in a pending contempt matter.

Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel had submitted that the contempt proceedings against respondents were pending before the court and added that the respondents had been directed to allocate five per cent quota to the newly enrolled HGOs on a priority basis after reducing the quota of existing HGOs. He said that the court had also directed necessary action in this regard to be taken by the respondents.

Siddique said that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) through newspapers advertisements asked those HGOs, to whom the quota had been allocated for upcoming Hajj 2012, to deposit the required amount for reservation of seats in the booking offices of PIA in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

The counsel said that this act of the PIA was tantamount to committing contempt of court because they had abetted respondents for violating orders of the court.

He prayed to the court that PIA should be restrained from announcements asking HGOs for reservation of seats of the Hujjaj for upcoming Hajj 2012 and that all respondents be directed to act in accordance with the order announced on June 21.

The chief justice after hearing the arguments issued notice to the respondents and sought a reply by June 27.