Lahore High Court Chief Justice on Monday sought a reply by March 29 from the federal government in a petition challenging "Diplomatic and Consular Privileges Act, 1972" under which immunity is granted to diplomats in line with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 and Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963.
CJ Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry issued this order in the petition of Azhar Siddique who argued that the said Act was in conflict with the fundamental rights as envisaged in the Constitution of Pakistan. He said the law infringed on life and liberty of the citizens of Pakistan and was void in terms of Article 8 of the Constitution.
He said if the diplomats were granted complete immunity, then anyone could enter the country under the guise of diplomats, kill the citizens and claim immunity. He said the Diplomatic and Consular Privileges Act, 1972 should be set aside by declaring it ultra vires of the Constitution, which guaranteed fundamental rights.
Advocate Siddique said the US ambassador and the consular had categorically declared that the person apprehended by Punjab police was not Raymond Davis. His real name had also not been disclosed so far, he added. He said a fake person had no right to claim diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention or any other relevant law. He prayed that a criminal case of forgery should be registered against the accused.
Comments
Comments are closed.