- Justice Kayani hears case, accepts a miscellaneous application
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday allowed Engineer Mirza Muhammad Ali to become a party in the main case challenging the Council of Islamic Ideology’s (CII) opinion that had declared him guilty in a blasphemy-related matter.
The decision came as Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard a miscellaneous application submitted by Ali, seeking formal involvement in the proceedings initiated against the CII’s opinion.
During the hearing, Advocate Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Ayubi appeared on behalf of the applicant and informed the court that the request was limited to becoming a party in the main case and that all relevant documents were already on record. Justice Kayani questioned the absence of supporting material with the fresh application, to which the lawyer responded that the full case file had already been submitted earlier and no new documents were required.
After hearing the arguments, the court accepted the miscellaneous application and permitted Engineer Mirza Muhammad Ali to join the case. The main petition was filed by Dr. Aslam Khaki, who challenged the CII’s opinion that had held Ali guilty of blasphemy. The court adjourned further proceedings till November 12.
Court reserves verdict on plea seeking stay of PP-73 by-election
In a separate development, the IHC on Friday reserved its verdict on a petition seeking to halt the by-election in Punjab Assembly constituency PP-73 (Sargodha). Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro reserved the decision after hearing arguments from all parties. The petition was filed by Sheikh Mukhtar, head of Pasban-e-Watan Pakistan Party.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that his client intended to contest the by-election but the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not accept his nomination papers. He said the election had earlier been postponed due to September floods, but when the revised schedule was issued, his client was not allowed to re-submit papers.
Justice Soomro asked why the seat had fallen vacant. The ECP’s lawyer replied that PTI’s Ansar Iqbal Haral, the elected member from PP-73, was convicted in the May 9 case, leading to his disqualification. He added that the ECP had already issued the election schedule, allotted symbols and printed ballot papers.
The ECP’s lawyer argued that halting the by-election for a single individual was unjustified, especially since the petitioner’s party was registered on October 20, after the deadline of October 13 for participation. “He can contest the elections next time,” the lawyer submitted.
Justice Soomro questioned how allowing the petitioner to submit nomination papers would “derail democracy,” before reserving the court’s verdict.
