Letter seeking protocol for high court judge's son withdrawn
Pakistan
The letter, dated Oct 6, sought protocol at the UAE and New York airports
LAHORE (Dunya News) – A letter from the Lahore High Court (LHC) registrar’s office to the ministry of foreign affairs seeking protocol for the son of a sitting judge in the United Arab Emirates and the United States has irked all and sundry in the country.
The letter — dated Oct 6 and written by senior additional registrar of LHC’s Rawalpindi bench, Iram Ayaz, to the foreign secretary — indicated Justice Ali Baqar Najafi’s desire for special protocol for his son, Syed Muhammad Ali, at Abu Dhabi and John F. Kennedy airport in New York.
It is learnt that the letter has been sent to Pakistan’s ambassador in the UAE and the consul general in New York.
“I shall be highly grateful if necessary protocol facilities at Abu Dhabi Int¬ernational Airport, UAE, and John F. Kennedy Inter¬national Airport, New York, USA, for fast process of immigration briefing along with facility of conveyance (from John F. Ken¬nedy International Air¬port to the address 32 Garden Street New Haven CT 065611) and other protocol facilities may please be provided to Mr Syed Muha¬m¬mad Ali, son of his lordship, according to the above-mentioned scheduled programme,” the letter read.
As the letter was uploaded on various social media websites, it was withdrawn. A fresh letter was written by the senior additional registrar which read: “As per the competent authority, the letter in question is hereby withdrawn and no action in this regard is required.”
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry had reportedly conveyed its inability to provide the desired protocol facilities at airports outside the country.
An LHC official, who declined to be named, referred to a 2017 circular about a policy approved by the high court’s administration committee. The policy stipulates protocol facilities for judges and their immediate family members, including wives, children and parents, at airports, Daewoo bus stands, hospitals, Nadra offices, embassies for visa purposes, passport offices and the ministries.
However, the official could not confirm whether the protocol policy covered airports outside Pakistan.
