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Law doesnt permit double jeopardy: Akram Shaikh

Understands no Pakistani can be tried in Gilgit court; advocates Tayyab, Kazim Bukhari say no room
for court action once accused penalised by Pemra;

Monitoring Desk
Friday, November 28, 2014
From Print Edition

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KARACHI: Renowned constitutional expert Barrister Akram Shaikh has said that
according to the Constitution of Pakistan, a person can only beconvicted once for one
offence, adding that he understood that no Pakistani citizen could be proceeded against in a
court of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Talking to Geo News, he said that the Constitution of Pakistan guaranteed a free press and
freedom of expression as a fundamental right. As far as the action against Geo Entertainment for
an offence under Section 295 is concerned, Barrister Shaikh added, this section of the law is a
class action. He explained that this section did not pertain to individual grievance. It provided a
class had the right to initiate action in a specific way if any utterance in any programme hurt his
feeling, he added.

He maintained that the courts of Karachi had exonerated the accused and Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman
who is neither a shareholder of nor connected to Geo Entertainment. Barrister Shaikh said that
there was a specific procedure for prosecution against the heads of corporate entities and, if Mir
Shakil-ur-Rahman supposedly had any remote connection in this issue, a court in Chaman had
exonerated him. A court in Islamabad had also absolved him of the charge, the barrister added.

He said that courts of Karachi had quashed FIRs against him. One charge and 75 FIRs, he
wondered. He referred to the case of Indian Muslim artist F M Hussain who had sculpted a deity
and sold it. The buyer auctioned that deity for millions of rupees and then registered uncountable
FIRs against Hussain.

Lets see, we are the followers of the Prophet (PBUH) who established an extreme of tolerance
for us. He waited for a woman who threw garbage on him. On the other hand, see the level of our
tolerance that we get 75 FIRs registered over one allegation despite having a constitutional
guarantee. And look what Hindustanis did!

Akram Sheikh said: In my respectful opinion, because the Constitution of Pakistan is not as
applied in Gilgit Baltistan as in other territories of the country, its Article 4 guarantees the Laws
of Protection of Pakistan. And in return, a citizen of Pakistan vows an unshakable loyalty to the
state. This is a contract between the citizen and the state. I dont think that there could be a case
against a citizen of Pakistan in Gilgit Baltistan, which has already been quashed by the courts of
Pakistan. The Gilgit courts decision is not worthier than the piece of paper on which it was
written.

He said the Al-Jihad Trust had filed a case in 1999 after which the present judicial system was
established in Gilgit-Baltistan, but Gilgit-Baltistans status was akin to Azad Kashmir which had
neither been merged into Pakistan completely nor was it part of the territorial limits of the
country.

The courts in Gilgit-Baltistan, he said, could not hear the cases that did not occur within their
territorial jurisdiction. Replying to a question about the person who filed the case, Sheikh said a
person involved in a murder case and with a dubious character could not question the actions of
others.

Akram Sheikh said even in Pakistan, there are some tribal territories, for instance Fata, and the
tribal areas near Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan. In all such areas, the political agent issues
warrants or the court verdict execution orders for any criminal offences. However, any court
situated in the territorial jurisdiction of Pakistan, the settled areas, could declare such orders or
sentences null and void. Therefore, I am sure that if the Gilgit-Baltistan court will try to execute
its orders in Pakistan, the sentence would be set aside, added the legal expert. The law of the
land would definitely protect its citizens as well as the freedom of the press and the
independence of the media, he added.

The famous lawyer said the Jang Group/Geo TV Network have played a crucial role in making
Pakistan a true democratic country. The Group has been a role mode for its role played for the
independence of the judiciary, he added. The Group is also holding the flag of openness and
transparency in the country, the lawyer said.

Therefore, I dont think that any such court could declare proclaimed offenders those attached
with the media group which wants to contribute to the independence of the media in the country,
with sincerity, he added.

Akram Sheikh said that he was quite confident that Allah will guide those in the right direction
who were propagating against the Jang/Geo Group. The opponents must keep in mind that they
could also fall victim to similar circumstances.

Hanif Khalid adds: The renowned legal experts of the country have categorically said that GilgitBaltistan province and its area are out of the constitutional limits of Pakistan. They said that the
judgement of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Gilgit on the entertainment programme of Geo
is on the one side. The hearing of the case on the basis of its FIR is out of the limits of the
hearing of the ATC of Gilgit.

Senior legal experts of the Supreme Court, Syed Muhammad Tayyab Advocate and Syed Kazim
Bukhari Advocate, while declaring the decision of the ATC of Gilgit astonishing, illegal and
non-implementable, said that if the accused are awarded punishment in any FIR or any case in
one court then no other court has the authority to give punishment again in the same offence
under Section 403 of Criminal Penal Code.

The punishment on charges regarding the Utho Jago Pakistan programme was awarded legally
and constitutionally. The governments Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (Pemra)
in its order had fixed the punishment by suspending Geo Entertainment for one month and
imposed a Rs10 million fine which was implemented.

Both the experts said that no other court has any authority to award any punishment again on this
offence and also no FIR can be lodged on the same offence. Syed Muhammad Tayyab has

further said that according to Chapter 4 of the Penal Code 1860 some actions which have not
been done with mala fide intention cannot become part of crimes. He said that different FIRs on
the one offence can be jointly trialed in one court not in different courts. He said the territorial
jurisdiction of ATC Gilgit is out of its authority and therefore, this court has no power to hear
this case. He said that Northern Areas are out of the constitutional limits of Pakistan.

In a special chat with The News, the legal experts said that Geo Entertainment channel had
complied with the Pemra order and two anti-terrorism courts had deposed FIRs on the same
offence. Apologies were offered repeatedly on this act and in this situation, the order of the ATC
in Gilgit could not be implemented in Pakistan.

Gilgit-Baltistan has its separate judicial system under the Self-Governance Order 2009 and
despite that the ATC Gilgit has no authority to announce such a judgement which clashes with
Article 184 of the Constitution, they said. No vires of the Anti-Terrorism Act was violated
during the broadcast of the Geo entertainment programme.

It is pleaded in petitions, already filed in the Supreme Court under Article 184 of the
Constitution, that implementation on the order of the Gilgit court should be stopped until the
Supreme Court takes a decision on the petitions filed last week.

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