LHC dismisses plea against detention of Sharifs

Staff Report

LAHORE The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday dismissed a habeas corpus petition against the alleged detention of the family of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) President Shahbaz Sharif.

Petitioning counsel Ashtar Ausaf Ali failed to show up and deposit the court fee for a bailiff, after which the court ruled the case dismissed. Earlier, Advocate General Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi requested that the case be dismissed for Mr Ali’s failure to participate in court proceedings.

The court while dismissing the case said the petitioner was seemingly not sincere with his party or in the recovery and production of Shahbaz’s family, adding had this been the case he might have complied with court orders and deposited the court fee and showed up.

At the request of advocate Rana Mashood, the court adjourned the proceedings for an hour. When the hearing resumed, the senior counsel had still not arrived in the court. Mr Mashood tried to contact Mr Ali on his cell-phone but he did not respond. Mr Mashood expressed doubts that intelligence agencies might have picked up Mr Ali and taken him to an undisclosed location but the court disagreed with his view and rejected the main as well as all miscellaneous petitions.

Later, Mr Ali turned up in the court an hour after it had given its ruling in the case and asked the court to resume the trial. The court declined his demand.

Earlier, Mr Rizvi denied allegations that Shahbaz’s family was in the government’s custody.

Mr Ali had filed a petition for the recovery of Hamza Shahbaz, Sulman Shahbaz, Javaria, Rabia and their mother from the alleged detention of by government.

— to hear petition for Ilyas Mairaj’s recovery

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) will take up a petition today (Wednesday) seeking the recovery of Ilyas Mairaj, the brother-in-law of former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, from illegal detention. The petition states that Mr Mairaj does not have any political ambitions and was being victimised due to his relations with the Sharif family. The petition was filed by Syed Mansoor Ali Shah. —Staff Report

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