The Pakistani Spectator

The single bench of Sindh High Court (SHC) comprising Justice Ameer Hani Muslim has issued a stay order in a case filed by the Jang Group’s Independent Newspapers Corporation Limited (INCL) against the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), ordering the bank not to take any action against the INCL.

The INCL said in its petition that a letter issued by the NBP on December 30, 2009 was an act of political revenge and that this action was being taken on pressure from the high ups running financial matters of the government.

The petition said such an action was against not only the prevalent principles and traditions of the banking industry, but also freedom of press and freedom of expression guaranteed in the Constitution of Pakistan. “Because as a result of this an attempt is being made to financially strangle newspapers of the Jang Group and channels of the Geo Network, so that the Group could be stopped from presenting facts about corruption and irregularities of the government, especially details of President Asif Ali Zardari’s alleged corruption whose cases were withdrawn from Swiss courts, interference in judicial matters, and the non-implementation of the Supreme Court verdicts against the NRO and other matters.

It is worth mentioning that a ban has been imposed on the official advertisements of the Group, besides strict actions are being taken by other government departments. In this regard, Jang and Geo Group have already filed several cases on these matters that are being heard in courts. The INCL has filed a case against the NBP on February 11, 2010. In this case, the SHC, issuing a stay order, stopped the National Bank from any action against the INCL.

Source: News