LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday sought replies from the federal and provincial governments on a petition questioning their failure to provide free legal aid to women prisoners as required under the law.

Advocate Nadeem Sarwar, the petitioner, argued that Free Legal Aid Act was enacted in 1996 with an objective to provide legal aid to deserving women languishing in jails. He said a huge fund was also established for the purpose, however, it had not been consumed for the welfare of the women prisoners.

The lawyer said the governments had failed to discharge their responsibility of implementing the law. He asked the court to order the federal and provincial authorities to enforce the law and provide free legal aid to women prisoners.

After hearing initial arguments, Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf issued notices to the respondents for submission of their replies by the next hearing.

On Monday, Advocate Sarwar also filed another petition for the release of convicts rotting in jails for non-payment of diyat, arsh and daman.

The lawyer contended that the Supreme Court had in 2007 directed the federal government to frame rules under section 338-G of Pakistan Penal Code to provide mechanism for creating funds for the purpose of making payment of arsh, diyat and daman of the deserving convicts.

He said the government later introduced “The Diyat, Arsh and Daman Fund Rules 2007”, however, the authorities remained failed to implement the same in letter and spirit.

The petitioner contended that the convicts languishing in jails were being denied their fundamental rights. He said non-release of convicts despite completion of sentence was in fact a sheer failure of the state machinery.

He asked the court to also summon record of such convicts and also those whose cases could not be decided so far.

Adjourned: An accountability court on Monday adjourned hearing of acquittal application of Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz in Ramzan Sugar

Mills reference as his counsel sought time for arguments.

Earlier, Hamza appeared before the court while the defence counsel filed an application for one-time exemption from personal appearance on behalf of Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.

The counsel said Mr Sharif was in Islamabad to attend the session of the assembly.

The court allowed the application and adjourned further hearing till Jan 20.

Another court adjourned hearings in the references of money laundering and Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme till Jan 20.

In the money laundering reference, the NAB alleged that the family members and benamidars of Shehbaz Sharif received fake foreign remittances of billions in their personal bank accounts.

In addition to these remittances, the bureau said, billions of rupees were laundered by way of foreign pay orders, which were deposited with personal bank accounts of his sons Hamza and Suleman.

Shehbaz, his wife Nusrat and son Hamza had been indicted in the case. Being out of the country, Nusrat joined the trial proceedings through a pleader with the permission of the court.

In the sugar mills reference, the NAB accused Shehbaz of issuing a directive, being chief minister, for the construction of a drain in Chiniot district mainly for the use of Ramzan Sugar Mills owned by his sons. It said Rs200 million were spent for this purpose from the public money.

In reference of Punjab Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme, the NAB alleged that Shehbaz and other suspects caused a huge loss to the national exchequer by awarding the contract of the housing scheme to a company without bidding.

Former head of Lahore Development Authority Ahad Khan Cheema, former principal secretary to prime minister Fawad Hassan Fawad are also suspects in the housing scheme reference.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2022