SC upholds LHC decision

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court upheld Tuesday the decision of Lahore High Court (LHC) that a military official could not be court-martialled over non-disclosure of assets.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, comprising Justice Ejazul Ahsan and Justice Umar Ata Bandial, dismissed the federation's review petition against Colonel Munir.

During course of proceedings, Additional Attorney General Sajid Ilyas pleaded that an army man was expected to remain transparent regarding his assets as their concealment amounted to dishonesty.

The chief justice observed that even for misrepresentation of assets, a military official would not qualify for court-martial as the matter would rather fall in the jurisdiction of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). There was no mandatory provision for military officials to disclose their assets, he added.

It may be added that in 1999 Col Munir was court-martialed for non-disclosure of assets, which was set aside by the LHC.