The court adjourned the hearing till June 21 on a contempt petition moved by Advocate Muhammad Azhar Siddique against the President Zardari for holding political office in violation of the LHC full bench order.

He argued that the President Zardari had not disassociated himself from political office at the ‘earliest possible’ as expected by the court in its decision on President’s dual office. He said the directions issued by the court had not been obeyed nor he (President) had stopped misusing the premises of the Presidency for the purpose of his party (PPP).

The lawyer said the president also called national assembly speaker Fehmida Mirza and greeted her for giving a ruling in favour of convicted prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and discarding judgment of a Supreme Court’s seven member bench in the contempt of court case. The action, he said, spoke a lot and confirmed the bias of leader of political party, rather that of the President of Pakistan. The ruling party was adamant not to obey the orders of Courts, and the fact could also be gathered from the statements of the PM published in newspapers, he added.

The petitioner pleaded that the use of presidency for partisan political activities by Asif Ali Zardari was not only illegal but contempt of the orders of court dated May 12, 2011, as defined in Article 204 of the Constitution. He prayed that the President should be show-caused, charged, convicted and sentenced for the contempt of court in view of the punishment as provided in Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003 read with Article 204 of the Constitution.

factory owners: Judicial Magistrate Mian Manzoor Ahmed on Tuesday extended one-day judicial remand of three brothers and owners of Orient Lab allegedly involved in reopening their sealed factory.

On Tuesday, jail officials produced accused Zaheer Iqbal, chief executive, Zafar Iqbal and Zubair Iqbal, directors of the factory, before the court. The judge has extended their one-day judicial remand.

The court has directed the jail officials to produce them again by June 20 (today).

They are nominated in a case under charges of de-sealing of their factory with connivance of the people concerned.

Meanwhile, Additional District and Sessions Judge Malik Tariq Mehmood Zargham adjourned the hearing by June 20 for arguments on after-arrest bail petition of Zubair Iqbal, the director of Orient Lab which collapsed and claimed lives of 26 people allegedly due to criminal negligence of the said accused.

On Tuesday, the counsel for the petitioner stated in the court that the incident was not pre-planned as the building collapsed accidentally. He prayed to the court to accept the after-arrest bail of the accused.

Twelve counsel also submitted their power of attorney on behalf of those families whose beloved Shakeela Akbar, Ghulam Abbas, Waris Ali and Musarat Zafar were killed and Shumyela Anwar, Sumra Anwar, Munib Ahmed, Faisal Abbas, Muhammad Amin, Saqib Mushtaq, Muhammad Fiyaz and Muhammad Bilal were badly injured.

On this, the court adjourned the hearing for arguments by June 20 (today).

In the FIR registered by Muhammad Ashraf Sindhu, inspector in Sabzazar police, against Zaheer Iqbal, chief executive, Zafar Iqbal and Zubair Iqbal, directors of Orient Lab, under Sections 302,324,290,291,427 and 149 of Pakistan Penal Code he stated that he along with other police officials while performing his patrol duty received emergency call through 15 that Orient Lab Factory, in which various medicines were prepared, a blast had occurred.

He along with other officials reached there and saw the entire factory building along with adjacent buildings of Khalid Habib and Rana Amjad had collapsed and all the workers of the factory were under the building structure which had fallen down.

Later people were rescued and taken to hospital while several of them died. Khalid Habib and Rana Amjad told them that they had submitted several applications in different departments to shift this factory from the residential area but no one listened to them.

This factory was sealed but later was reopened. Later, they informed the owners about any big loss in future but they ignored them.