PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has issued notices to all concerned parties, including the federal and provincial government, on a petition filed against the nomination of an allegedly unrelated person from the field of journalism, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, for a civil award (Sitara-e-Imtiaz/Tamgha-e-Imtiaz).
The court has sought detailed responses from the parties for the next hearing. The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Naeem Anwar and Justice Muhammad Ijaz Khan. During the hearing, petitioner senior journalist Shamim Shahid, Khyber Union of Journalists President Kashifuddin Syed, Shakeel Siddiqui, and other journalists appeared in the court. The Deputy Attorney General and Additional Advocate General also appeared in the court on behalf of the government.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Rehmanullah Advocate, argued that his client is a senior journalist who has been associated with several national and international broadcasting organizations and is still active in the field of journalism. He told the court that civil awards are given to those who have shown outstanding performance in various fields every year on March 23 and August 14 in the country, the procedure of which is clear in the “Decoration Act 1975”.
The lawyer objected that in the list issued on January 1, 2025 (or the date of the relevant notification), Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi has been nominated for the civil award in the journalism category, although he has no connection with the journalism profession. The position taken in the petition is that Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi is neither a member of any journalistic organization nor has he any services in this field. He is a businessman associated with the Sarhadi Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations; therefore, giving him an award in the journalism quota is illegal and the worst example of nepotism.
The petition has requested that the court declare Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi’s nomination notification null and void, order its cancellation, and direct the government to conduct fresh nominations in the journalism category transparently and fairly so that the rights of the entitled parties are not violated. After hearing the initial arguments, the court issued notices to the parties and adjourned the hearing.
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