Pakistan: Senate body approves bill to clip Islamabad officials' judicial powers

Pakistan's Parliamentary committee has approved four bills, including one that seeks separation of the judiciary and the district administration in the country's capital Islamabad, local media reported on Saturday.

The Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Friday, which met with Senator Mohsin Aziz in the chair, also discussed a number of other bills, according to Pakistani newspaper Dawn.

The media outlet further reported that the committee discussed the draft "Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2021" which seeks amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1898 to end judicial powers enjoyed by bureaucrats in Islamabad.

According to Dawn, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, who moved the bill, told the committee that the exercise of judicial powers by the district administration was in conflict with Article 175 (3) of the Constitution.

Besides, the committee also passed two other bills moved by Senator Shahadat Awan - The Registration (Amendment ) Bill 2021 and Consideration of the Children (Pledging of Labour) Act 1933.

Notably, Yesterday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had ruled that the allotment of plots on subsidised rates to Pakistan's top judges, lawyers and bureaucrats was illegal and ordered the federal government's real estate entity to initiate housing schemes for the general public.

According to Dawn newspaper, an IHC division bench consisting of Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issued the judgement on identical petitions related to the allotment of plots by the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) in sectors F-14 and F-15 of Islamabad.

The verdict declared the FGEHA project in both sectors as well as the upcoming sectors F-12 and G-12 illegal.

"Surprisingly, the list of successful beneficiaries posted on the website included senior members of the bureaucracy, besides serving and retired judges of the superior judiciary. Virtually every judge of the district judiciary of Islamabad was amongst the beneficiaries. Ironically, they included judicial officers who were kept under observation either for incompetence or having questionable reputations. It also included those judicial officers who were dismissed from the services pursuant to disciplinary proceedings or who had opted to resign," the court order stated, according to Dawn.

The court verdict noted that FGEHA board members had even allotted plots to themselves.

( With inputs from ANI )

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