Shahbaz’s deportation: Petition moved against president, government

Staff Report

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has been moved through a habeas corpus petition to order President General Pervez Musharraf and the federal government to produce PML-N President Mian Shahbaz Sharif, “who the petitioner contends was forcibly and without his will removed from the territorial jurisdiction of the court.”

The petitioner, Pakistan Lawyers’ Forum, through AK Dogar advocate, said he had filed the petition in response to the court’s objection to his earlier petition that he was not an aggrieved person to seek any order in favour of Shahbaz Sharif.

The petitioner added that according to the Constitution of the Pakistan, anyone could file this petition for enforcement of fundamental rights. He said in the backdrop of the Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi case (PLD 1975 SC 66), the authorities could not have restrained and sent Shahbaz Sharif to Jeddah. “Liberty is a product of rights and a person who has no rights is a mere slave,” the petitioner quoted Harold J Laski.

He said the act of getting the agencies’ personnel to force Mr Sharif to leave Pakistan was, in the language of the Pakistan Penal Code, an act of abduction, the petitioner said. This was a case of criminal use of force covered by Sections 362 and 365 of the PPC, the petitioner said, adding that if a person forced another to leave any place or confine him at any place, they was liable to punishment of seven years of rigorous imprisonment.

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