Notification making Sohail Ahmed OSD non-practical: SC

 The Supreme Court (SC) has termed the notification making Sohail Ahmed OSD non-practical and ordered that the competent authority appoint him any appropriate position in seven days, Geo News reported Friday.
On the reinstatement of Hussain Asghar, the apex court said he should be given charge in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) when he joins.
Earlier during proceedings of the Hajj scandal case, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq told a six-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry that Chief Minister

Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Syed Mehdi Shah had stopped Hussain Asghar from returning and he was in Kachura.
While hearing the case, CJ remarked that a simple issue has been turned complicated unnecessarily.
The hearing of the case has been adjourned for an indefinite period.
The court had directed the AG to submit the prime minister's response by today. Other members of the bench hearing the Haj corruption case are Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Amir Hani Muslim.
The order stated that the parliamentarians had brought the hajj corruption issue to the court also a Saudi prince wrote a letter to the SC regarding mismanagement in hajj affairs.

Meeting at Presidency to discuss SC orders

A meeting with the government’s coalition partners has been called at the Presidency to discuss the orders of the Supreme Court, Geo News reported Friday.
According to sources, the meeting will be chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari and attended by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani , Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), along with the Chief Ministers of Sindh, KP, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan
The opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz and Senator Babar Awan have also been invited to attend the meeting, sources added.
Babar Awan is expected to brief the meeting on legal matters, while the meeting will also discuss matters between the center and provinces

Supreme Court seeks PM’s written reply in Sohail Ahmed case

A six-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftihkar Muhammed Chaudhry heard the hajj corruption case, Geo News reported.
DG FIA, Tehsin Anwar appeared before the court and said that IG Gilgit-Baltistan Police, Hussain Asghar had not returned to the FIA. To this the Chief Justice remarked that only the rule of law would be followed in the country and no one should think otherwise.
Taking notice of the removal of the secretary establishment Sohail Ahmed, the chief justice directed the attorney general to immediately go and speak to the prime minister.
In his remarks, the chief justice said the secretary establishment was made officer on special duty (OSD) for upholding court orders. Ahmed had sent the summary to the concerned authority to issue the notification for the reinstatement of Hussain Asghar as the investigation officer in the Hajj corruption case, but when no action was taken he issued the notification to uphold constitutional responsibilities. The chief justice added that the prime minister acted in haste.
When the hearing resumed after the break, the attorney general informed the court that he could not speak with the prime minister because he was busy in a cabinet meeting, and presented the notification to make Sohail Ahmed officer on special duty (OSD). The court directed him to personally go and meet the prime minister and present his written reply in court.
The hearing of the case was adjourned till Thursday