ISLAMABAD: Refusing again to interfere in political matters, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday excused itself from issuing production orders for Khawaja Asif and directed him to approach the National Assembly (NA) speaker for the purpose.
A single member bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard a petition seeking issuance of production orders for incarcerated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif to attend the ongoing session of the National Assembly.
Barrister Mohsin Shah Nawaz Ranjha appeared before the court on behalf of the petitioner Rana Tanveer Hussain, chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), saying that the petitioner has written to issue production orders for Asif on February 1, but they have not been issued yet.
The IHC chief justice remarked that, in a democracy, it is not common for cases of a political nature to come to the courts. “We have written in our decisions that this court does not interfere in such political matters,” he maintained, adding “You [Khawaja Asif] present a copy of our decision to the speaker of the National Assembly.”
He said that the IHC cannot issue directions to the NA speaker and it is the job of the leadership to honour the body of such a large standing committee. “Respect for the National Assembly will come only when the courts do not interfere in any matter relating to them,” the chief justice said while asserting that if the institution had been respected, this would not be the case today.
He further said that the court is not issuing any order at this stage.
The court suggested that the petitioner should approach the NA speaker to have his grievance redressed. The hearing was adjourned until Feb 23.
On January 22, an accountability court in Lahore sent Asif to jail on 14-day judicial remand in the assets beyond means case. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested the former foreign minister and the acting leader of the opposition in the National Assembly from the federal capital on December 29 last year.
