Islamabad - A local court has issued arrest warrants of president and vice president of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, former Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain, and executive committee members and registrar of PM&DC for presenting a fake gazette notification regarding their appointments before a standing committee of the national assembly.
Talking to The Nation here on Monday, Barrister Adnan Rohaila, the counsel for MNA Nasir Khan Khattak, informed that court of civil judge and Judicial Magistrate Malak Aman has issued the arrest warrants of some ten accused people including abovementioned accused for using fake document as genuine to benefit themselves and illegally occupy public office of PM&DC.
He further added that the court issued the arrest warrants of President PMDC Prof Masood Hameed, Vice President Prof Dr Muhammad Awais, former Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain, Registrar PMDC Dr Raja Amjad Mehmood, Prof Ghulam Qadir Qazi, Prof Hafeezullah, Dr Sadaat Khan, Prof Abdul Salam, Dr Khurshid Ahmad Nasim and Prof Azam Yousifani.
Barrister Adnan continued that the court issued the arrest warrants in the first information report (FIR) registered with police station Secretariat on the application of MNA Khattak. He told that police registered the case under sections of 34, 409, 419, 420, 468 and 471 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on February 1, 2014.
In the FIR, applicant MNA Khattak stated that as an MNA, he inquired about the status of PM&DC from ministry of national health services, regulations and coordination (NHSRC) vide letters whereby it was specifically asked if the president, vice president and the executive committee were notified in the official gazette of Pakistan.
The MNA added that in its reply, the federal government categorically stated that they had not notified the said appointments. Later, in this connection he found a notification dated January 1, 2014 on the official website of the PMDC. Therefore, he wrote a letter to Printing Corporation of Pakistan (PCP) Press Karachi to check the authenticity of the notification informing them that a bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) had already issued status quo order in this matter dated May 2, 2013.
The PCP in its reply stated that the said notification was never printed by the press. Then, a subcommittee of the standing committee of NA was also constituted to examine the issue in detail.
The PCP also informed this secretary of this committee that the gazette notification forwarded by the national assembly for verification was not published by it.
Therefore, the appellant Khattak alleged in his application that the PM&DC through this forged and fake notification defrauded the public at large, the state, the parliament, official functionaries, national and international organisations and institutions.
He added that thus the beneficiaries as well as the persons involved in production and usage of this fake and forged document must be proceeded against as per law.
In this regard, Barrister Adnan said that the accused also moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the quashment of this FIR. However, the Chief Justice of IHC Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi turned down their petitions.
Justice Kasi noted in the verdict, “So far the objection of jurisdiction is concerned, the contents of impugned FIR reflect that the offence alleged comprises of two phases i.e. one preparation of forged document and the second is the production of the same.
The place where the first phase was allegedly committed is uncertain while the second one is shown to have been committed at Islamabad.”
The court also wrote, “The conduct of the petitioner seems to be clumsy especially in backdrop of observing by the Standing Committee, more particularly due to restraining order of the Lahore High Court, therefore, the extra ordinary discretionary relief at initial stage is not called for.” Therefore, the court dismissed the petitions moved by President PM&DC Prof Masood Hameed and others.