Pak SC to hear pleas against Sharif for denotifying Urdu as 'national language'

Pakistan's Supreme Court will soon take up two contempt petitions against the country's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for not notifying Urdu as the national language despite explicit court orders.

The three judge apex court bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam will hear the petitions on January 28, reports The Express Tribune.

The premier has been dragged to court for violating its September 8, 2015, verdict and delivering official speeches in the English language on several occasions.

Last September, the Supreme Court had asked the government to consider and implement Urdu as the official language within three months.

The review petition, however, states it is practically impossible to adhere to the time span of three months suggested by the top court for the translation of laws from English to Urdu, considering the vast reservoir of laws on different subjects.

The court has stated that if subsequent to this judgement, any public bodies or public officials continued to violate the constitutional commands of 'Article 251', citizens who suffer a tangible loss directly and resulting from such violation shall be entitled to enforce any civil rights.