ISLAMBAD - The Islamabad High Court yesterday turned down government’s application seeking quashment of an FIR registered against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and other mainstream leadership of PML-N for allegedly committing violence against the protestors during the last-year sit-in of PTI and PAT.
As a result of dismissal of government’s plea, an FIR that was suspended since October 16, 2014 has been restored against the top government functionaries.
The FIR was registered when some three people were killed and many others were wounded after the violent clashes of PTI & PAT workers with the police between the night of August 30 and 31 last year, when the police had been trying to stop the protesters from moving forward towards the Prime Minister’s House.
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui conducted the hearing of the application seeking quashment of an FIR that was registered on September 27, 2014 at the orders of an additional district & session judge (ADSJ).
While hearing a PTI application under section 22-A, the judge had directed the secretariat police station to register criminal cases against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, IG Punjab, IG Railways police, IG and SSP Islamabad and Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Mujahid Sherdil.
Pakistan Tehrik-I-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Jahangir Khan Tareen, Shireen Mazari, Shafqat Mehmood, Arif Alvi and Asad Umar had moved this application under section 22-A.
However, the same IHC bench had suspended operation of this FIR on October 16, 2014 while the main writ petition for quashment of FIR was still pending. Now, it has been dismissed for non-prosecution.
This petition was filed in the IHC by an Additional Attorney General (AAG) Mohammad Waqar Rana last year requesting the court to quash the FIR.
Later, record of this case was transferred to the Advocate General Islamabad Mian Abdur Rauf who had direction from the federal government to withdraw this petition.
On Thursday, Mian Abdur Rauf appeared before the IHC bench and requested to withdraw the government’s petition. Justice Siddiqui in the bench however observed that the petition was filed by the AAG Waqar Rana therefore he could only withdraw the petition.
At this, the court was informed that AAG Rana is busy in the Supreme Court and he could not appear. Then, the court deferred the proceedings till mid break and asked the law officers to ensure presence of AAG Rana after the mid-break.
But, the AAG could not appear before the court and the IHC bench turned down the application for non-prosecution and resultantly the stay order dated October 16, 2014 for suspension of the operation of FIR also lapsed which resulted in the restoration of FIR dated September 27, 2014.
The petitioners had adopted in the petition that the ADSJ passed the said order in his capacity as ‘justice of peace’ where he did not examine material facts and issued the said verdict against those officials of law enforcement agencies who were performing their lawful duties.