PTI, PAT FIR against rulers restored

ISLAMABAD: Lack of coordination in the federal government’s legal team has resulted into the restoration of an FIR against top government functionaries despite the fact that it was suspended since October 16, 2014.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Thursday dismissed an application seeking quashment of FIR registered against the mainstream PML-N leadership including Prime Minister and Chief Minister Punjab for allegedly committing violence against the PTI and PAT ‘Dharna’ protesters on August 30, 2014.
The dismissal of this application has restored the FIR that was registered on September 27, 2014 on the orders of an additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) who while deciding a PTI application under Section 22-A had directed the Secretariat Police Station to register criminal cases against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, IG Punjab, IG Railways police, IG and SSP Islamabad and the deputy commissioner Mujahid Sherdil.
The said application under Section 22-A was moved by PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Jahangir Khan Tareen, Shirin Mazari, Shafqat Mehmood, Arif Alvi and Asad Umar.
The same IHC bench on October 16, 2014 suspended operation of this FIR while the main writ petition for quashment of FIR was pending till Thursday when it was dismissed for non-prosecution.
This petition was filed in the IHC by Additional Attorney General (AAG) Muhammad Waqar Rana last year requesting the court to quash the FIR. Later, record of this case was transferred to the advocate general Islamabad Mian Abdur Rauf who had direction from the federal government to withdraw this petition.
In Thursday’s hearing, Mian Abdur Rauf appeared before the IHC bench and requested to withdraw the government petition. Justice Siddiqui observed that the petition was filed by AAG Waqar Rana therefore he could only withdraw the petition.
At this, the IHC bench was informed that AAG Rana is busy in the Supreme Court and could not appear. Court then adjourned the proceedings till mid break and asked the law officers to ensure presence of AAG Rana after the mid-break.
As the AAG could not made it to the court. The IHC bench dismissed application for non-prosecution and resultantly the stay order dated October 16, 2014 for suspension of the operation of FIR also lapsed. This has restored the September 27, 2014 FIR.
Through AAG Muhammad Waqar Rana, the federal government alongside police officials and a deputy commissioner had challenged the ADSJ court’s September 27 order regarding registration of FIR.
Petitioners had been contending that the ADSJ passed the said order in his capacity as ‘justice of peace’ where he did not examined material facts and issued the said verdict against those officials of law enforcement agencies who were performing their lawful duties.
In the violent clashes of PTI & PAT workers with the police between the night of August 30 and 31, at least three people were killed with several others wounded when the police had been trying to stop the protesters from moving forward toward prime minister’s house.