LHC judge praises army's role to end Faizabad sit-in

LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC)’s Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin Ahmad on Tuesday hailed the role of the military in defusing the situation in Islamabad, a day after Islamabad High Court (IHC)’s Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui came down hard on the government and army for letting the latter play a role of mediator in the agreement between the protesters and government.

Justice Ahmad made the remarks about the Faizabad sit-in and agreement while hearing the petition for the recovery of Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) leader Nasir Abbas Shirazi, who was allegedly picked up by four armed men in an Elite Force vehicle.

“Everyone knows that the army has saved the country from a huge catastrophe,” Justice Ahmad remarked, referring to the protest sit-in by religious parties that had paralysed the capital for three weeks.

“Numerous people would have been killed had the army not played a role,” added the judge.

The picture of martyred Major Ishaq’s daughter with her father’s coffin is proof of the army’s sacrifices for the country, he said, adding, “I could not sleep all night after looking at that picture.”

On Monday, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had lashed out at the federal government as well as Pakistan Army for the role assigned to the military “as the mediator” in the agreement to end the protest sit-in at Islamabad’s Faizabad Interchange by a few hundred zealots.

The army chief instead of following the orders of the chief executive became a mediator, pointed out Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui.

“Who is the army to adopt a mediator’s role?” enquired the judge. “Where does the law assign this role to a major general?”

During the hearing of the missing person’s case, Shirazi’s brother claimed that he was picked up days after approaching the court for Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah’s disqualification for remarks against Justice Baqir Najfi. However, the police had refused to register a case against the law minister.

Expressing anger over the inability of security agencies to recover Shirazi, Justice Ahmad said that the court was aware of their capabilities and it was not a big deal for them to ensure recovery of one person.

Justice Ahmad, while expressing annoyance at the ministers speaking against the courts, asked the Punjab additional advocate general to “help ministers learn how to respect the courts”.

Meanwhile, Military Intelligence’s (MI) Colonel Ahmad apprised the court that Shirazi was not in MI’s custody.

Justice Ahmad directed the ISI, IB and other intelligence agencies to ensure recovery of the abductee and adjourned the hearing until December 4.