Islamabad, April 19 (Agency) The Islamabad High Court (IHC) dismissed a petition which sought to stop the issuing of a diplomatic passport to PML-N supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Geo News reported on Tuesday. While deposing the petition IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah stated that the petition was based on unreliable material and it was frivolous and also slapped a fine of Rs5,000 on the petitioner as the counsel was engaged at state expense.
The petition was filed by advocate Naeem Haider Panjutha in the IHC on Thursday in reference to media reports which said that Nawaz was being issued a diplomatic passport on the instructions of newly elected Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, who happens to be his younger brother, claiming that the instructions for the issuance of the diplomatic passport were given to the interior and foreign affairs secretaries. The petitioner contended that as Nawaz Sharif is an absconder in the eyes of the court as he was convicted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for corruption and it is violative of law, a mockery of the justice system and a disgrace to the nation if a diplomatic passport is issued to a convict. During the hearing, Justice Minallah asked the petitioner’s counsel which order of the federal government was he challenging. The court cannot give a verdict in the air, the CJ added.