LHC remands Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza bail case to sessions court for fresh hearing

By Nadir Baloch

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench has remanded a sessions court’s decision rejecting the bail plea of religious scholar Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza.

Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan of the LHC Rawalpindi bench directed the lower court to review all records and documents afresh before issuing a new ruling.

According to Mirza’s counsel, Dr Tahir Ayoubi, “For the first time in history, the high court has remanded a blasphemy-related bail case back to a lower court and ordered the sessions court to rehear it.”

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court also heard a petition seeking to nullify the Islamic Ideological Council’s resolution declaring Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza guilty of blasphemy.

The CII earlier issued an opinion stating that Mirza’s repeated utterances contained “statements of kufr” (disbelief). The Council had said his conduct demanded severe penal punishment under relevant law.

During the hearing, the Council could not submit its written response. The court granted the Council a final one-week extension to file its reply.

During proceedings, Engineer Mirza also submitted a miscellaneous application seeking to become a party to the case. However, the IHC Registrar’s Office raised objections, preventing the petition from being fixed for hearing.

IHC judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani remarked that the objections should first be addressed, after which the court would decide on the request to include Mirza as a party.

He further observed that since the proceedings were based on the opinion of the IIC and “by that logic, all blasphemy cases should then be referred to the Council.”

During the hearing, lawyer Dr Aslam Khaki argued that the IIC had exceeded its mandate, as it is authorised to issue opinions only at the request of the president or a provincial governor.

Justice Kayani remarked that “perhaps they have now been granted investigative powers as well.”

Dr Khaki requested the court to suspend the Council’s resolution against Mirza, but the court said that an interim order could not be issued until the other side submitted its response.

The court made it clear that if the reply was not filed by the next hearing, it would issue an order on its own. The hearing was adjourned until November 12.

It is worth mentioning that Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza was arrested from Jhelum on August 26, after which his academy was sealed.