Daily Times

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court was informed on Friday that all wine shops across the province were sealed following its orders.

Ghulam Mustafa Mahesar, the provincial law officer, submitted the compliance report of excise and taxation department’s director general to the division bench headed by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah.

He told the judges that all wine shops throughout the province were sealed in compliance with its orders and the record about their sale and stock was taken into custody.

Earlier on Thursday, the court had directed the excise and taxation department’s DG to immediately seal all the liquor shops operating in violation of the Hudood Ordinance 1979 and submit compliance report.

The court gave the Sindh government 30 days to come up with a mechanism in consultation with the stakeholders, including members of non-Muslim communities and wine shop owners, to ensure that a practical, transparent and viable mechanism is put forward, so that only the licensed wine shops will sell wine and liquor to non-Muslims locals and foreigners in limited quantities on occasion of their religious ceremonies.

Plea for initiation of Contempt Proceedings: Another bench directed the provincial authorities to respond to an application seeking contempt proceedings against them for failing to take steps to include human rights as a subject in the secondary curriculum.

A two-member directed the provincial law officer to file the response of education and literacy department secretary and other relevant authorities until April 11.

Zubair Ali Khaskheli, who was the litigant in the main case, moved an application against the provincial education department for failing to implement the court orders for incorporating human rights Articles in the Constitution into the syllabus of the secondary level school.

Back in 2013, the court had directed the government authorities to take steps to introduce human rights as a subject in the syllabus taught at the secondary level schools from 2015.

Khaskheli had petitioned the high court seeking its directives for the authorities concerned to incorporate the human rights as a subject to the schools syllabi in the province. He submitted that the students should be acquainted with the human rights in order to promote peace and harmony in our society.

He requested the court to direct the federal and provincial governments to incorporate the human rights in the syllabi across the province.