ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: The Islamabad High Court accepted on Tuesday an application seeking early disposal of a petition relating to extension given to Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and put off the hearing till the third week of this month.

A division bench of the IHC comprising Justice Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi and Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had taken up the petition filed by Col (retd) Inamur Rahim, legal adviser of the Ex-Servicemen’s Society.

In the application, Mr Rahim said that the army chief had issued a statement on Nov 5 saying “no individual or institution has the monopoly to decide what is right or wrong in defining the ultimate national interest”.

According to him, the army chief could not express such views because “no person who is subject to the Army Act can express views detrimental to the ideology and integrity of Pakistan”.

Advocate Rahim had filed the petition in the IHC in September against the extension in the service of army chief, but Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman dismissed it on Sept 24, citing Section 3 of Article 199 of the Constitution, which says that the high courts could not hear cases pertaining to the service of armed forces personnel.

Then he filed an intra court appeal against the said order which was fixed before a division bench of the IHC for hearing on Oct 23. The case was adjourned without any proceeding because of non-availability of a judge and is still pending for adjudication.

In the appeal, Mr Rahim contended that Gen Kayani was not subject to the Army Act, 1952, as he had attained 60 years of age on April 20, 2012, after which no-one could serve in the army.—Asad Malik