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PoliTical misuse aPPrehensions dicTaTed decision noT To live-sTream naB amend case: sc Sunday, 2 June, 2024 I |24 Zil-Qadah, 1445
g DECISION TO LIVE-STREAM SOME PROCEEDINGS THERE ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY OF EXPLOITATION OF FACILITY FOR ULTERIOR OR PERSONAL PURPOSES, COURT SAYS IN WRITTEN ORDER DEPENDED ON THEM BEING A MATTER OF PUBLIC INTEREST
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Rs 20.00 | Vol XIV No 333 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
HE Supreme Court on Saturday said its decision to not live-stream proceedings in intra-court appeals (ICAs) against the court’s Sept 15 majority judgment striking down amendments to the anti-graft laws was due to concerns about the facility being politically misused. In its written order released on Saturday, the court said: “In live-streaming cases, there is always a possibility that the facility may be misused or exploited for ulterior or personal purposes. There is also the possibility of grandstanding while the nation watches. This court must be vigilant against such misuse and/or exploitation.” During hearing on May 30, the fivejudges bench — headed by CJP Isa and including Justices – Athar Minallah, Aminuddin Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, and Hasan Azhar Rizvi — decided in a 4:1 ruling not to stream the proceedings live. The bench took a short break to mull whether to live-stream the hearing and in a majority 4:1 decision, chose not to, with Justice Minallah dissenting from it. The decision was taken on an application by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa advocate general (AG) to live-stream the proceedings. It further added: “When the head of a political party wants to be heard, who is not an advocate of this court, there is a real probability that these hearings may be used for political purposes and point scoring and in respect of matters which do not concern these appeals. This was a paramount consideration when we had dismissed the application. And, our apprehension proved correct later in the day.” The order explained that when Imran
spoke in the Thursday hearing, he also “mentioned other cases, the general elections held on February 8, a commission of inquiry and his incarceration”. The order said that all such matters had “nothing to do” with the subject matter of the appeals. “This cannot be permitted as it would thwart the proper administration of justice. Commenting on matters not under consideration may affect public perception. The rights of those who are not before us, including their fundamental right to fair trial and due process, may also be affected.” Addressing the KP AG’s application, the order said the only reason given in its support was that the decision to not live-stream the NAB case proceedings amounted to “discrimination”. “However, the reason is factually incorrect because only a very few cases have been/are live-streamed. There are also instances of cases which were initially livestreamed but in the interest of justice, it was discontinued. The application also does not
cite any law in its support,” the order said. The court explained that its decision to live-stream some proceedings depended on them being a matter of public interest and 40 hearings had so far been broadcast live. “This initiative was taken to provide to the general public and lawyers throughout Pakistan direct access to the courtroom in respect of matters of public interest. The objective was manifold, including: educational, openness and transparency, forestalling misreporting or one-sided reporting, facilitating lawyers on how best to articulate their propositions, how to effectively conduct cases and how to behave in the courtroom.” However, the court noted that “the public has shown little or no interest in the matter of whether the amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, are sustainable on the constitutional plane, nonetheless this court, on its own volition was live-streaming the hearing of these appeals.” The order also pointed out that Imran had
not attended 53 hearings of the case and neither he nor the KP government had requested for the proceedings to be broadcast live. It also pointed out that Imran was now being represented by his legal team and thus there was no need for him to be provided with the video link facility. “However, this facility is being continued,” the order added. It continued that the KP government was also not a party in the appeals and the advocate general had not explained “why the sudden interest, or desire, for live-streaming, when his government did not join the hearings … let alone make a similar request when this court was hearing the petition.” “In conclusion, we would like to add that while a request to live broadcast or livestream may be submitted, and may also be objected to, it is clarified that this, as matters presently stand, is in the exclusive domain of this court,” the order concluded. CASE AND BACKGROUND In 2022, amendments were made to the country’s accountability laws by the then-Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government. The amendments made several changes to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, including reducing the term of the NAB chairman and prosecutor general to three years, limiting NAB’s jurisdiction to cases involving over Rs500 million, and transferring all pending inquiries, investigations, and trials to the relevant authorities. Imran had subsequently filed a petition in 2022 challenging the amendments, claiming that the changes to the NAB law were made to benefit the influential accused persons and legitimise corruption. The petition had pleaded that the fresh amendments tend to scrap corruption cases against the president, prime minister, chief ministers and ministers and provide an opportunity to the convicted public office-holders to get their
FIA summons three more PTI leaders in Sheikh Mujib tweet case ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday issued notices to three more leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in connection with the uploading of a controversial video involving Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the official account of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan. Khan has already been issued notice in this regard. In a post on the social media platform X dated May 26, Imran Khan’s account, managed by his social media team due to his incarceration, shared a video with a quote attributed to him: “Every Pakistani should study the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report and get to know who was the true traitor, General Yahya Khan or Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.” The video argued that the former military dictator was responsible for the country’s breakup, referring to alleged atrocities committed by the Pakistani military during the civil war. It also included images of the current civilian and military leadership, alleging they stole the party’s mandate in the general elections.
The post generated intense backlash and controversy, particularly from government ranks, who termed it “alarming” and accused the PTI of “continuously fuelling the narrative of hatred and incitement” by comparing Imran to Sheikh Mujib. Sources indicate that the FIA has summoned Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, and Raoof Hasan for inquiry on Tuesday at 11am. The notices were issued as part of the investigation into the alleged illegal use of the PTI founder’s official X account. The FIA claims that the video aimed to incite public agitation against the state and its institutions, potentially spreading fear and unrest among the populace. An FIA spokesperson stated, “The video posted from the official account of PTI founder sought to provoke the public against the state and its institutions, creating a risk of lawlessness and public disorder.” The notices highlight concerns that such provocative content could encourage people to take the law into their own hands, posing a threat to public safety and order. PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan had
LAHORE
A petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) was filed on Saturday against the federal Finance Ministry for defying Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s directives regarding a massive drop in petrol prices. The petition was filed by Advocate Azhar Siddique, challenging the Finance Ministry’s decision to ignore
‘laden with lacunas’: sc sends anti-smuggling law to Parliament for review
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
announced yesterday that the party’s core committee will convene a meeting to discuss the controversial tweet. Moving forward, he said no posts will be made from the founder’s account without his explicit approval. The FIA Cyber Wing has already launched an investigation over the controversial tweet. The FIA Cyber Crime Cell team had reached Adiala Jail after obtaining permission from the Judicial Magistrate in Is-
lamabad to question the incarcerated PTI founder on Thursday. However, Imran Khan refused to answer the FIA team’s questions, insisting that he would only respond in the presence of his lawyers. In an interview on Express News’s programme “Centre Stage” the same day, Ali Muhammad Khan stated, “The current situation bears no resemblance to the events of 1971, and PTI’s founder is not Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.” He added that PTI’s stance on the matter is “purely political”.
LHC moved against Finance Ministry for defying PM’s directives on POL price cut STAFF REPORT
convictions undone. The SC had reserved its verdict in the case on September 5, 2023, after 53 hearings, with the members of a three-judge bench debating the power of parliament to enact legislation with retrospective effect. The apex court had subsequently on Sept 15 ordered the restoration of corruption cases against public office holders that were withdrawn after amendments were made to the country’s accountability laws and declared Imran’s plea to be maintainable. However, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa had dropped hints in an October 31, 2023, hearing as the apex court took up intra-court appeals (ICA) against the Sept 15 judgement that since earlier proceedings did not to satisfy the requirements of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, proceedings in the matter could be started afresh if the counsel managed to “make a solid case” for the same. Though it refused to stay proceedings in corruption cases underway in accountability courts, the apex court restrained trial courts from announcing their final orders till the next hearing of the appeals in the matter. The apex court was seized with a number of ICAs moved by the federal government as well as by a private citizen Zuhair Ahmed Siddiqui, who was an accused in a corruption case but not a party to the challenges to the NAB amendments case. The larger bench also issued notices to respondent Imran with a direction that since he was incarcerated, the notice should be delivered to him through the jail superintendent concerned. On May 14, CJP Isa had instructed the government to ensure video link arrangements for Imran to join proceedings of a case about changes to the country’s accountability laws and give his arguments.
the Prime Minister’s recommendation to reduce the price of petrol by Rs15 per liter. Despite a significant decline in global petroleum prices, the Ministry of Finance only reduced the price by Rs4.74 per liter, the petition stated. Siddique urged the court to order Finance Ministry to reduce the petrol prices as per the prime minister’s recommendations. Yesterday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the Ministry of Finance to cut the price of petrol by Rs15.4 per liter.
The Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif in a statement directed the finance minister to further slash the price of petrol by Rs15.4 per liter and that of diesel by Rs7.9 per liter. However, the Finance Ministry reduced the prices of petrol by Rs4.74 per litre and diesel by Rs3.86 per litre. After a reduction of Rs4.74, the new petrol price was fixed at Rs268.36 per litre. The price of high-speed diesel (HSD) decreased by Rs3.86 to Rs270.94 per litre.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Saturday sent the Anti-smuggling Act 1977 to the Parliament for a review, recommending amendment to the law. In a seven-page verdict, authored by Justice Shahid Waheed, the apex court said that the anti-smuggling law has scores of lacunas, noting the law only allows the accused the right to appeal. “Denying the right to appeal to government means the Anti-smuggling Act benefiting accused,” the court observed. The copies of the verdict, written by Justice Shahid Waheed and comprised of seven pages, have been dispatched to the Law and Justice Commission, Secretary Law and the Attorney General of Pakistan. Referring a case, the court said that the AntiNarcotics Force (ANF) in a complaint in year 1998 said that a man Ubaid Khan made property with smuggling. “The ANF has only a role of reporting the special judge under the Anti-smuggling Act,” decision read. “The matter restricted between the judge and the accused after the accused present their stance. The complainant’s role comes to an end in the law after reporting the judge,” the verdict read. “The ANF will not be an affected party of the decision after its role ends with complaint. In the antismuggling act, the ANF or the state have not been given any right to appeal and only the affected party i.e accused have right to appeal under the law,” according to the decision. “The Peshawar High Court (PHC) dismissed the ANF’s appeal against the court’s decision in the case because ‘it was not an affected party’,” the verdict read. “The anti-smuggling laws, across the world, give the state or government the right to appeal. It will be appropriate if the parliament revisits the law to give the right to appeal to the state,” the apex court verdict suggests.
Nepra approves Rs46.6b Quarterly Tariff Adjustment for discos, KE g
ADDITIONAL CHARGES TO BE APPLIED TO ELECTRICITY BILLS FROM JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2024 PROFIT
MONITORING DESK
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved an additional financial burden of Rs 46.613 billion on consumers of Discos and KE under the Quarterly Tariff Adjustment (QTA) for the third quarter (January-March) of the current fiscal year 2023-24. Of the total Rs 46.613 billion adjustment, Rs 28.515 billion is for capacity charges, Rs 10.284 billion for less FCA im-
pact of T&D losses, Rs 5.309 billion for O&M, and Rs 2.541 billion for Use of System Charges. The QTA will be reflected in electricity bills for July, August, and September 2024. Power Division officials have requested Nepra to notify the QTA adjustment immediately, as tariff rebasing is also planned from July 1, 2024. According to Nepra, the approved recoveries for the third quarter include Rs 7.772 billion for Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO), Rs 2.181 billion for Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco),
negative Rs 1.013 billion for Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco), Rs 9.090 billion for Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco), Rs 3.337 billion for Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco), Rs 14.095 billion for Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), Rs 5.011 billion for Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco), Rs 5.219 billion for Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco), Rs 1.656 billion for Sukkur Electric Supply Company (Sepco), and negative Rs 546 million for Tribal Electric Supply Company (Tesco).