A Full Bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) on a petition, filed by a senior bar member, Hasan Nawaz, has stopped the government from taking any step to establish Federal High Court (FHC) for Islamabad Capital Territory till further orders, and adjourned hearing till January 9, 2008.
The petitioner contended that amendments made in Article 175, 192, 198 and 218 by Chief of the Army Staff were beyond the limits of the Provisional Constitutional Order. Therefore, these should be set aside. The court has also called S M Zafar, Waseem Sajjad, Dr Khalid Ranjha, Mojeeb-ur-Rehman and Ahmar Biala Soffi as amicus curiae of the court as the petitioner has raised some complicated questions relating to interpretation of several constitutional provisions.
The petitioner contended that the declared objectives of the PCO and Emergency did encompass the establishment of a FHC and fell beyond the capacity of Army Chief's power to hold the constitution in abeyance.
The amendments were made in the constitution by changing its basic structure where lay the judiciary. Thus the provisions intercepting basic changes in the constitution relating to the superior judiciary in Pakistan were illegal and mala fide.
The jurisdiction of the army chief, amounting against the judgement of the Supreme Court, rendered from time to time was illegal. Therefore, the court should affirm the independence of judiciary and reinforcement of grand norms of the constitution. He also requested the court to restrain the government from taking any further steps in establishing the federal high court.