Top court admits two anti-emergency petitions

Islamabad: The newly restructured Supreme Court on Monday admitted two petitions challenging the state of emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf more than a week ago.

An 8-member Bench headed by new Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar issued notices to the respondents, including the Federal government, Musharraf and the attorney general.

The petitions were moved by Tikka Iqbal, a former information secretary owing allegiance to the opposition groups in Punjab, and a nondescript political group, the Watan Party. The petitioners also challenged a blackout of private television channels under the clampdown.

Next hearing

The petitioners' counsels argued that the army chief had no lawful authority to proclaim emergency.

The court fixed the next hearing in the case for November 15.

The petitioners also spoke against suspension of fundamental rights in violation of constitutional guarantees.

The petitioners requested the court to invalidate the proclamation of emergency and to order the lifting of curbs imposed on the media and the release of arrested lawyers, political workers, human rights activists and social activists.

The plaintiffs also pleaded that Musharraf be directed to relinquish his post as chief of army staff.

Meanwhile, President Musharraf on Monday appointed two more judges to the Supreme Court to restore the functional strength of the apex court that had been depleted by the sacking of former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and around a dozen others.

The judges who did not take oath under a provisional constitution order (PCO) issued by Musharraf were placed under house arrest, and one of them, Javed Iqbal, had been shifted to his hometown in Balochistan.

New judges

The two new appointees were Mohammad Akhtar Shabbir, a retired judge of the Lahore High Court and Zia Perwez, a former judge of the High Court of Sindh, a law ministry press release stated.

Opposition parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League(Nawaz) of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif respectively, besides several bar associations have forged a common front to demand the withdrawal of the PCO and the reinstatement of the deposed judges.