By Afshain Afzal

Aftermath, the National Security Committee endorsed of 15^th May Corps Commander Conference's decision to try the perpetrators of the violent attacks under the Army Act and Official Secrets Act, Islamabad actions are seen with concern as regard to upholding fundamental rights. If we recall, Special Corps Commanders’ Conference chaired by Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir firmly resolved to hold the abettors, planners, and miscreants involved in attacks on military and public property accountable under the Army Act and the Official Secret Act. It is not wise to comment on the current situation at this juncture as everyone knows the half-hidden – half-exposed hands are running the show and now bent upon to internationalize the issue to give favour to a particular political party and put all blame on Pakistan Armed Forces and Law enforcement agencies.

Earlier, in a dramatized script by handful of individuals to give an impression that whole nation is against Armed Forces of Pakistan and bent upon attacking military and law enforcement installations miserably failed. As the matter died down a new issue was raised on Imran Khan’s arrest. Many official statements did not match each other but why ignored? Who ordered Rangers to arrest Imran Khan has still been not made public, what to talk about giving free passage for trespassers in GHQ, Corps Commander’s residence and carrying out arson at various places. The intervention by Judiciary also could not help moving to next episode of the written script. Now no one in the “Civil Power” knows how Article 245 has been invoked and who requisitioned Armed Forces in aid to civil power. One wonders even if the Army has been called in by Federal Government under Article 245, which has not been claimed, how the letter issued by Ministry of Interior, Islamabad got approval requesting Armed Forces under Section 4 (3) ii) of Anti Terrorism Act, 1997? And how official letters by Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial governments along with two separate replies by Ministry of Interior have been leaked to media and made public on the same day?

The symbolic incidents of violence occurred throughout the country on 9^th May but request for requisition of Armed Forces in aid to civil power by the Federal Government seems overdoing. One wonders when forces of Ministry of Interior including Frontier Constabulary and Rangers were already deployed in all the province and federal capital, why Armed Forces were requisitioned? Interestingly, letter from the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan are missing and so is the case of their replies, which apparently reflect that they have not requisitioned Armed Forces. It is quite disappointing that the constitutional provisions in Article 245, Rule of Business and other laws have not been followed in true letter and spirit. The makeshift measures and lack of coordination between various departments and Federal Government is highly disappointing. If the current violations are allowed to go unchecked, on foresee a potential war between Federal Government and Provinces over the issues how to requisition/ de-requisition forces in aid to civil power, strength/ deployment of these forces.

In a systematic move, arrests are being made to give further popularity to those who challenged the writ of government and pardoned on mere assurance without trial. First Information Report (FIR-708/23), lodged under 10 criminal sections including 7 ATA, 353/341/440/441 PPC with the Police station in Rawalpindi, Lahore etc have been ignored and in a unique way instead to punishing the culprits under prevailing law, they are pardoned after confessing their crimes and chanting slogan Pak Fauj Zindabad, Pakistan Paiendaabad. Interestingly itut still it is unclear under which law they are being released. One wonders why a separate yardstick is followed for people of Balochistan and erstwhile Tribal Area of Pakistan.

We cannot ignore that Fundamental Rights or Human Rights ensured in the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and these must be extended to all citizens of Pakistan. However, criminals and terrorists must be dealt with an iron hand. What intentional flaw has been committed here that Pakistan’s Constitution is protecting terrorists and criminals in political parties, which would have dire repercussions in the future. More so, The Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997) permits requisition by provincial Governments to secure the presence of armed forces and civil armed forces in any area for the prevention and punishment of terrorists and scheduled offences in accordance with the provisions of this Act. But everyone would appreciate that Anti-Terrorism Act does not fit in the 9 May case.

No doubt, it is not within the mandate of Law Enforcement agencies including Armed Forces as highlighted in the 15^th May declaration; to develop national consensus amongst all stakeholders to address ongoing political instability and strengthen democratic process. Nor we should allow institutions to play the role of several Ministries at the same time as Ministry of Interior cannot allow Armed Forces to derequisition Armed Forces in aid to civil power after mutual consultation of both the Provincial Governments and MO Directorate of Pakistan Army, as highlighted in the authorization letter by Ministry of Interior dated 10 May 2023. It is high time to act constitutionally, preserve democracy and human rights but use an iron hand to defeat criminals and terrorists by bringing new amendments in the Constitution.

By Afshain Afzal

Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice Umar Ata Bandial has summoned a meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on 15 May 2023 to appoint the permanent Chief Justice of Federal Shariat Court. It is being claimed that Justice (Retired) Iqbal Hamidur Rehman will be nominated as the permanent Chief Justice of Federal Shariat Court. Justice Iqbal Hamidur Rehman was born in Dacca, former East Pakistan and remained as Chief Justice Islamabad High Court from January 2011 to February 2013, tendered resignation as Judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan on 24 October 2016, as he was accused of making illegal appointments in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and few other issues. Important case by Justice Iqbal Hamidur Rehman included; Gojra incident of 2009, certain members of the Christian Community was burnt alive by a mob. Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rahman was entrusted with One Man Tribunal of Inquiry in respect of Gojra he not only tried to stop communal violence but also submitted objective guidelines for the protection of the rights of minorities in Pakistan.

As Chief Justice he also decided Rimsha Masih daughter of Mizrik Masiah resident of Maira Jaffer Vs. Station House Officer, Police Station Ramna etc in which F.I.R. No.303 under 295-8 P.P.C dated 16 August 2012 under Section 295-8 P.P.C. registered at Police Station Ramna, Islamabad was quashed. He also played controversial in Asia Bibi case in which she was accused of blasphemy. The hearing was adjourned because Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rahman, one of the three judges to hear the case, recused himself from the bench on the day of the hearing because of a “conflict of interest”. The cause list was issued a week earlier he delayed till day of hearing, leaving no alternative for some other arrangements. This allowed a lot of negative propaganda against Pakistan by Iranian national Sam Zarifi, who was International Court of Justice’s Asia Director.

Originally, a Behari origin father of Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rahman was famous Justice Hamood ur Rahman, who was appointed as as Advocate General of East Pakistan in 1953, from where he was elevated as judge of the Dhaka High Court in 1954. Parents of Justice Hamood ur Rehman originally belonged to Patna, India and migrated to East Pakistan much after partition of India and Pakistan. He remained as the Vice Chancellor of University of Dacca (1958–60) and also appointed as judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1960 from where he was elevated as the Chief Justice of Pakistan in 1968. Justice Hamoodur Rahman was author of Commission Report, which inquired into the circumstances leading to the breakup of Pakistan in 1971. Because of his anti military and anti-Pakistan report, he was chosen as member United Nations Committee on Crime Prevention and Control (1972–73) and Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (1974–77).

The position of Chief Justice Federal Shariat Court, Islamabad is vacant since long. Presently, the Court is run by Justice Dr. Syed Muhammad Anwer, who was appointed as Aalim Judge Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan on 21 may 2020, and is Acting Chief Justice Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan since his appointment on 16 May 2022. The law allows the senior-most Judge to be appointed as Chief Justice. Keeping the national interests in view, general public is questioning the nomination of Justice Iqbal Hamidur Rehman as Chief Justice. One wonders if this is the case why a retired Judge is being nominated who resigned over a controversy and had controversial background.

By Afshain Afzal

The history of medical colleges in Balochistan takes back us to 1952 when Amin-ud-Din Medical School was started in Balochistan. It worked for seven years and was closed as a matter of policy when it was felt that this category of Doctors were no more required and instead it was decided that more medical colleges to be opened to train fully qualified doctors in the country, at the level of MBBS and beyond. Balochistan got the status of a separate Province in 1970 and accordingly, in 1972, the Government of Pakistan formally decided to set-up a Medical College at Quetta and agreed to run it as a Federally Funded Project. For the admission in educational institution in the provinces of Pakistan, holding domicile of that province was a prerequisite. An affidavit duly attested by a 1st Class Magistrate to the effect that the candidate or his/her father / mother is in possession of only domicile certificate of that province otherwise, he/ she shall not be considered for admission. In addition, the Government notification allowed 20 additional marks to those who have successfully completed National Cadet Corps and or certified Hifz-e-Quran.

Pakistan Medical and Dental Council under sub-section (2) of section 33 of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Ordinance, 1962 (XXXII of 1962), issued regulations, the ‘MBBS and BDS (Admissions, House job and Internship) Regulations, 2018’, amended on 30th May, 2019, which is now applicable to all recognized medical and dental institutions, hospitals and institutions and all admissions into their MBBS and BDS courses. The regulation allows all those having completed their last two years of schooling from abroad in taking admission in MBBS or BDS courses against open merit or foreign quota seat in any public or private institution of Pakistan. In case of those applying foreign seats quota, National University of Modern Languages (NUML) has be made sole authority to certify their proficiency in English while National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) will be ‘Admitting University’ responsible for the military medical and military dental constituent/ affiliated colleges that are attached with military teaching hospitals. The regulation allows private medical and dental institutions to admit students on foreign seats quota upto fifteen percent of their total annual seats allocated by the Council purely on merit. The above regulation is in violation of PMC Medical and Dental Undergraduates Education Regulations 2021 (amended) which has defined foreign and Pakistani students in Section 2 (e) “foreign students means a student who is not a Pakistani national and holds only a foreign nationality: 2 (i) Pakistani student means a student who is a Pakistani national or defined as Overseas Pakistani and may hold dual nationality…

The same regulation provides that a Hafiz-e-Quran certified as such by the appropriate body/authority shall be entitled to addition of twenty marks to his marks obtained in HSSC or, as the case may be, F.Sc / equivalent, provided he/she passes Hifz-e-Quran test conducted by the Admitting University for the purpose of these regulations. However, this is not being followed. A medical college and institute of dentistry, recognized by Pakistan Medical and Dental Council announcing admission for MBBS and BDS set criteria of F.Sc. / qualification equivalent to F.Sc. from a foreign university or foreign education system with a minimum of 70% marks in aggregate (without marks of NCC or Hifz-e-Quran). Many Baloch are still ignorant what has been done to the future generation through series of policy changes. We cannot allow these changes to go unchecked.

On 9 January 2022, Supreme Court of Pakistan issued notices to the Pakistan Medical Commission and others to submit replies on a court query as to why an additional 20 marks should be given to students applying to medical colleges and universities on the basis of their being Hafiz-e-Quran for admission purposes. The Supreme Court issued notice on the basis of petition filed by a girl student against denial of admission in the Bolan University of Medical and Health Sciences, Quetta. It was clarified that allocation of 20 marks to Hafiz-e-Quran candidates for MBBS/BDS admission is under Regulation 9(9) of the MBBS and BDS (Admissions, House Job, and Internship) Regulations, 2018.

In 2012, a Christian student, Haroon applied for admission in MBBS in The University of Health Sciences and claimed 20 additional marks awarded to Hafiz-e-Quran but was not entertained and could not be selected. Haroon was critical to award of 20 additional marks to Muslims Hafiz-e-Quran. In the same regard, Church of Pakistan and Bishop of Islamabad on the behalf of Haroon approached The University of Health Sciences and Punjab’s education minister, stating that Haroon’s religious education is at par with any Islamic education. But they were not heard. In the recent past, Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul announced in June 2021 that in order to integrate the youth of the country in the Prime Minister’s Ten Billion Tree Tsunami plantation project, a special legislation allowing 20 additional marks on planting 20 trees during their studies was underway.

Later, another candidate challenged the award of 20 marks to Hafiz-e-Quarn filed a petition in Supreme Court of Pakistan. In January 2021, a bench led by Justice Isa while hearing a matter had questioned the grant of additional 20 marks to Hafiz-e-Quran students. The apex court on 8 January 2022, had dismissed the petition but decided to hold a separate hearing to discuss the matter in order to sought clarity on the issue. Justice inquired, “Whether the memorization of the Holy Quran is relevant criteria for determination of the candidates for an MBBS or BDS degree needs consideration.”, “Whether regulation 9 (9) of the Regulations confirms with Article 25 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan” “How are admissions into medical and other colleges linked to being a Hafiz-e-Quran? Why should 20 marks extra be given on this basis?” “We believe that memorizing the Quran is sacred. And it is a plus point when someone wants to become the imam of a mosque or a religious lecturer but how can a Hafiz-e-Quran be a better doctor?”

On 30 March, Justice Isa, along with Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Shahid Waheed, constituted a three-member bench that issued a majority order of 2-1 in a suo moto case involving the allocation of 20 marks to Hafiz-e-Quran candidates for MBBS/BDS admission. The bench ordered the suspension of cases heard under Article 184(3) of the Constitution until changes were made to the Supreme Court Rules 1980 concerning the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s discretionary powers to establish benches. Supreme Court of Pakistan’s (SCP) established six-member bench which examined Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s ruling freezing all suo moto notices and disposed of the matter after hearing.

Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan dated 4 April 2023 on Suo Moto Case No. 04 of 2022 (Grant of additional 20 marks to Hafiz-Quran while admission in MBBS/BDS under Regulation 9 (9) of MBBS and BDS (Admission house jobs and internship) Regulations, 2018, is unique in nature and seems to be a case of ‘Judicial Review’ due to an oversight. The decision of honourable larger bench is based on misleading stance taken by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s report that “the MBBS and BDS (Admissions, Examinations, House Job or Internship) Regulations, 2018 and amended in 2019 which allowed grant of 20 additional marks for Hafiz e Quran for admission in Medical and Dental Colleges are not in force and the current Regulations namely Medical and Dental Undergraduate Education (Admissions, Curriculum and Conduct) Regulations, 2021 do not grant any additional marks to students who are Hafiz e Quran, no further proceedings in this suo motu case are required.” There is no doubt that it is a great injustice to the  students who were earlier guaranteed for 20 Marks of completing Hifzul Quran. Now they will be deprived of admission and decent jobs, The Court oversight that the character of Hafizul Quran is very high as comparted to most of  other students. 

One wonders that there are thousand of Madaris operations throughout the country engaged in free Hifz-ul-Quran and other education without any discrimination of religion, caste, creed, and social status. Most of the students are orphans or very poor to afford education. All these Madaris provide free boarding and three times meals per day to all the students. Do we have precedent anywhere in the world that any International Non-Government Organization or International Organization posses such a tremendous capacity for the welfare of poor students? The Government of Pakistan should fully fund them from the Zakat they collect to the billions of rupees each year rather than discouraging them to undertake religious studies. Hounourable Courts of Pakistan should never forget that Article 2 A of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan provides that State would ensure that Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah. One wonders does this article means closing down all Madaris under the garb of terrorism and backing out from 20 marks, which Government guaranteed, to each Hafiz ul Quran.

By Afshain Afzal

The recent judgment by honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan dated 4 April 2023 on Suo Moto Case No. 04 of 2022 (Grant of additional 20 marks to Hafiz-Quran while admission in MBBS/BDS under Regulation 9 (9) of MBBS and BDS (Admission house jobs and internship) Regulations, 2018, is unique in nature and seems to be a case of ‘Judicial Review’ due to an oversight. The decision of honourable larger bench is based on the stance taken by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s report that “the MBBS and BDS (Admissions, Examinations, House Job or Internship) Regulations, 2018 and amended in 2019 which allowed grant of 20 additional marks for Hafiz e Quran for admission in Medical and Dental Colleges are not in force and the current Regulations namely Medical and Dental Undergraduate Education (Admissions, Curriculum and Conduct) Regulations, 2021 do not grant any additional marks to students who are Hafiz e Quran, no further proceedings in this suo motu case are required.”

The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 (Article 2.A) provides; sovereignty of Almighty Allah alone over Pakistan and authority by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by Him. In Pakistan, Islam’s enunciated principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice shall be fully observed and Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah. Here there would be guaranteed fundamental rights, including equality of status, of opportunity and before law, social, economic and political justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship and association, subject to law and public morality. With regard to minorities, provision to freely to profess and practice their religions and develop their cultures. While another criteria for Pakistanis is that they will be faithful to the declaration made by the Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

The honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan is constitutionally bound to be faithful to the declaration made by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah when in a speech at Lahore on October 30, 1947, he said: “We thank providence for giving us courage and faith to fight these forces of evil. If we take our inspiration and guidance from the Holy Quran, the final victory, I once again say, will be ours.” In his speech in the Sibi Darbar on 14 February 1948, he expressed his views against western type of democracy and advised us to guard over the development and maintenance of Islamic democracy, social justice and equality of manhood and told us that our aim should be to secure democracy as enjoined by Islam. Addressing the first education conference held in Karachi in 1947, Quaid-e-Azam said, “Under foreign rule for over a century, in the very nature of things, I regret, sufficient attention has not been paid to the education of our people,” He said, “There is no doubt that the future of our State will and must greatly depend upon the type of education and the way in which we bring up our children as the future servants of Pakistan. Education does not merely mean academic education, and even that appears to be of a very poor type. What we have to do is to mobilize our people and build up the character of our future generations.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling, “current Regulations namely Medical and Dental Undergraduate Education (Admissions, Curriculum and Conduct) Regulations, 2021 do not grant any additional marks to students who are Hafiz e Quran” need a review as PMDC never said 20 marks to students who are Hafiz e Quran have been withdrawn but what he said, “marks for Hafiz e Quran for admission in Medical and Dental Colleges are not in force”. The question remains, did Medical and Dental Undergraduate Education (Admissions, Curriculum and Conduct) Regulations, 2021 mentions that it override other Regulations? If not, award of 20 Marks to Hafiz-e-Quran is still applicable and Supreme Court is duty bound to seek reply from all the stakeholders who were required to clarify questions asked by Bench of Justice Qazi Faez Isa. The author can be reached at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.