LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan was informed on Thursday that no auction had been held for the sale of Toshakhana articles during the last five years.

A federal law officer stated this during the hearing of a petition challenging the auction of the Toshakhana articles only for the officers of the government and the armed forces.

The chief justice directed the law officer to submit an affidavit to support his statement and also directed the petitioner’s counsel to come up with his rejoinder next week.

A citizen had questioned the decision of the government to permit the officers of the government and armed forces only to participate in the auction.

The petitioner through his counsel argued that the process for the auction was sheer discriminatory and unlawful. He asked the court to set aside the impugned process and order the government to also allow common citizens to participate in the auction.

It may be mentioned that the CJ had already suspended the notification of the auction, which was scheduled for November 25, 2020.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021