Full bench to hear Minhajul Quran case

LAHORE

The Lahore High Court Chief Justice Tuesday constituted a full bench to hear petition of Idara Minhajul Quran challenging order of an anti-terrorism court in which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and others were not summoned over charges of Model Town’s killings.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Yawar Ali and comprising Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Abdul Sami Khan would hear the petition. Jawad Hamid of Idara Minhajul Quran filed a petition before the LHC and made Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, MNAs, including Hamza Shahbaz, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Abid Sher Ali, Ch Nisar Ali, and MNA Pervaiz Rashid, Syed Tauqeer Shah, Major (r) Azam Suleman, Rashid Mahmood and others respondents in the petition.

The petitioner, through his counsel Rai Bashir Ahmad, filed the petition saying that he was the complainant of private complaint against the Model Town incident in which 10 persons were murdered by the accused persons on active connivance, abatement, common intention and object of the respondents. He mentioned in the petition that trial court had summoned rest of the respondents except the above-said respondents on the charges of killing innocent people in Model Town. The ATC decided to try 124 other officials, including Punjab IGP Mushtaq Sukhera and former DCO Lahore Muhammad Usman in the case, said the petitioner. But the trial court ignored the case evidence and did not summon the 12 respondents because the PM and others were the real master-mind and abettors of the incident, he alleged.

The petitioner prayed that the ATC decision to the extent of not summoning the 12 respondents be set aside and respondents be summoned.