IB withdraws review petition against Faizabad sit-in verdict

ISLAMABAD: The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has withdrawn a review petition against the judgment delivered in a suo moto case by the Supreme Court in 2019 on the Faizabad sit-in.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) on Tuesday filed an application in the apex court under Order XXXIII Rule 6 of the Supreme Court Rules 1980 for withdrawal of its review petition. The petitioner intends to withdraw the Civil Review petition and does not want to pursue the matter, says the application filed by Amjad Iqbal, Deputy Director (Legal), Intelligence Bureau (IB). The IB prayed the apex court to accept its application and that the review petition may kindly be allowed to be withdrawn.

Similarly, Advocate Amanullah Kanrani, counsel for the petitioner Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, sought an adjournment in the review petitions hearing fixed for September 28.

Mehr Khan Malik, Advocate-on-Record, filed an application in the apex court on behalf of Amanullah Kanrani, counsel for the petitioner Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. The application stated Amanullah Kanrani, counsel for the petitioner, has taken over charge of Law Minister for the Province of Balochistan and he is not in a position to appear before the apex court.

“The undersigned AOR could not contact the petitioner Sheikh Rashid Ahmed as he is behind bars,” says the application. In view of the above, it is most respectfully prayed that the civil review petition may kindly be adjourned in the interest of justice, the application added.

It is pertinent to mention here last week Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa constituted a three-member bench to hear the review petitions against the judgment of the Supreme Court given in the Faizabad sit-in. The bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Athar Minallah, will hear the review petitions on September 28. On April 15, 2019, several review petitions were filed against the verdict pronounced by the incumbent Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa on the Faizabad sit-in case.

After the verdict, the PTI-led federal government through the Ministry of Defence, Intelligence Bureau (IB), the then government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, MQM, PEMRA and others had filed review petitions against the apex court judgment.

Earlier on February 6, 2019, a two-member bench of the apex court comprising Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mushir Alam had recommended that persons, issuing an edict or fatwa harming other people must be criminally prosecuted under the Pakistan Penal Code, the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and/or the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.

“Protestors who obstruct people’s right to use roads and damage or destroy property must be proceeded against in accordance with the law and held accountable,” the verdict had held.

The court also held that all intelligence agencies (including ISI, IB and MI) and the ISPR must not exceed their respective mandates.

The bench had disposed of a suo moto case on the 2017 Faizabad sit-in staged by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pak­is­tan (TLP).