ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a plea seeking suo motu notice on the deaths during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protests.
A SC five-member constitutional bench led by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan rejected the plea while hearing a case related to the Climate Change Authority.
“The court cannot address the matter not before it,” remarked Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan when the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s law officer asked the top court to take suo motu notice of the deaths.
The KP’s law officer appeared before the SC via video link and referred to the deaths took place during the PTI’s protests in Islamabad and the subsequent grand operation.
The law officers said that fatalities took place on the both sides.
At this, Justice Musarrat Hilali, one of the members, snubbed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s lawyer, observing that, “Do not make political statements in the Supreme Court,”.
Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan once again remarked that the matters formally not brought before the court could not be addressed. Another Judge Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail also remarked, “This matter is not before us, and we do not wish to discuss it,”.
The constitutional bench rejected the verbal plea of the KP government’s law officer regarding the suo motu on the deaths during the PTI’s protest.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court concluded the hearing of a petition related to the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The petition was filed by the PTI’s founding chairman.
Babar Awan informed the court that the KP Assembly had already finalized the matter, so no further judicial action was needed on this petition.
