Muqsit Haider Ali

Child custody is often a highly sensitive matter, where one parent is denied contact and access to their child.

The paramount consideration for deciding a matter of custody is the welfare of the child. This includes the physical wellbeing, upbringing, education, religious and moral values, and economic livelihood of the child. A Guardian Court decides which parent can best secure the welfare of the child and awards them custody.

In most cases, the Court will award custody to the mother (especially if the child is young), since she is the natural caregiver of the child. However, if the father is deprived of contact with the child or is prevented from spending time with the child, then he may very well seek full custody of the child or secure his visitation rights through the Court.

We recommend that in any case involving child custody, the parents set aside their differences and prioritise the interests of the child, who will only get a chance at a normal life if he or she: (i) has access to both parents; (ii) is not alienated from the non-custodial parent; and (iii) gets to visit and spend time with the non-custodial parent on a regular basis.

To learn further about child custody laws in Pakistan, contact Muqsit Ali & Co. at:

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Location: 10-F, Queen's Center, Queen's Road, Lahore

The Ashtiname (or Book of Peace) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, was a Covenant written by Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه, signed with the Christians of Sinai, Egypt. It is one of the only surviving documents that bear the seal of Muhammad ﷺ.

The first paragraph of the Covenant says:

"This letter is directed to the embracers of Islam, as a covenant given to the followers of Jesus the Nazarene in the East and West, the far and near, the Arabs and foreigners, the known and the unknown."

Like any agreement or contract, the first paragraph tells us who the parties to the Covenant are. The parties are "all embracers of Islam", referring to the present and future generations of Muslims, and "followers of Jesus the Nazarene", meaning Christians.

The substance of the Covenant is as follows:

"Whenever Christian monks, devotees and pilgrims gather together, whether in a mountain or valley, or den, or frequented place, or plain, or church, or in houses of worship, verily we are [at the] back of them and shall protect them, and their properties and their morals, by Myself, by My Friends and by My Assistants, for they are of My Subjects and under My Protection."

There will always be elements within a society that wish to terrorise minorities and, to gain legitimacy for their violent acts, hide behind the cover of an extremist misinterpretation of religion or hateful ideologies.

But Muslims everywhere are bound by Muhammad's ﷺ teachings to take a stand against these elements.

His Sunnah, Hadith, as well as his Covenant command us to stand behind Christians and other minorities and offer them protection, so that such elements know that they will have no support, succour, or assistance from society when they riot, commit murder, and spread terror against minorities.

The complete absence of support will be enough to make them think twice about their actions.

Lastly, clear punishments and penalties are ascribed for those who violate the Covenant:

"He who disobeys that which is [in this Covenant] will be considered a disbeliever and a transgressor to that whereunto he is commanded. He will be regarded as one who has corrupted the oath of God, disbelieved His Testament, rejected His Authority, despised His Religion, and made himself deserving of His Curse, whether he is a Sultan or any other believer of Islam."

The penalties speak for themselves.

Any person purporting to be a Muslim, howsoever powerless or powerful they are, will be deemed to have rejected Islam and flouted the Authority of Allah if they are complicit any act of hatred against Christians and other minorities, or provide their support to those who commit such acts.

Khula, guardianship, and inheritance rights fall under the category of family laws in Pakistan, which are broadly shaped by the Holy Qur'an.

Khula is the right of a wife to ask the Court to separate her from her husband, derived from Surah-al-Baqarah, verse 229. It is a procedure which usually spans three months.

Whenever a woman seeks Khula, she has to decide whether to keep custody over her children, if any. Under the laws of Pakistan, custody of a child goes to whichever parent can best secure the welfare and interests of the child. This includes the child's education health, upbringing, education, religious values,
and other factors.

Inheritance rights in Pakistan are entirely derived from the school of thought to which the person belongs. Since most Muslims in Pakistan follow the Hanafi sect, Hanafi law is applicable to inheritance matters.

Unfortunately, it has become a trend for males to deprive the females within their family, whether it be their mother, sister, or sister-in-law, of their lawful inheritance.

To learn further about family laws in Pakistan, contact Muqsit Ali & Co. at:

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WhatsApp: 0340-6254064

Location: 10-F, Queen's Center, Queen's Road, Lahore

Mere unruly, aggressive, or violent behaviour, even if a grisly murder has been committed, is not enough for a person to be declared mentally insane under the law.

Since the first day, people have assumed that will be able to escape justice by submitting an insanity plea. Such views are based more on the public's lack of faith in Pakistan's justice system rather than an understanding of the insanity laws.

The law of Pakistan under Section 84, Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 requires Zahir Jaffer to establish three things if he is to claim insanity as a defence:

(1) He suffered from a mental disease.

(2) The mental disease was such that it prevented him from thinking rationally and understanding what was going on around him.

(3) He was suffering from that mental disease at the time he r***d and murdered Noor Muqaddam.

To establish insanity, Zahir Jaffer will first have to be evaluated by a medical board. He will undergo certain tests, he will provide evidence of past treatment for the mental disease, evidence of any family history of mental disease, and affidavits of any doctors or therapists who previously diagnosed or treated him for the disease.

But that is not enough for the Court. It is mandatory for the Court to look at: (i) the attending circumstances of the incident (Noor's murder); (ii) the conduct of Zahir Jaffer before the incident, and (iii) his conduct after the incident. The Court takes a holistic view of these three factors and then decides whether an accused was insane at the time he committed the offence.

Let's look at the circumstances of the incident one by one which establish that Zahir Jaffer was perfectly sane at the time he murdered Noor.

(1) DNA evidence confirms that the r***d Noor. The physical act of r**e requires control of oneself, control over one's victim, presence of mind, and awareness of external reality.

(2) He resisted the staff of therapy works when they tried to apprehend him. A person resists apprehension or arrest when they know that they have done something wrong. Knowledge of wrongdoing confirms insanity.

(3) He prevented Noor from escaping. When she jumped from the balcony, he dragged her back inside the house. He prevented his guards from letting her out of the house, confined her to a room, and locked her inside. All this requires presence of mind, which shows that he knew what he was doing.

(4) He had a one-way flight booked for the U.S. This shows that he pre-planned the offence and had secured an escape route. Pre-planning is also evidence of sanity.

(5) He was in constant communication with his parents and had told them he did something wrong, which is why they sent the therapy works staff. This shows that after committing the offence, he knew he had done something wrong, and he informed his parents of the wrongdoing. Again, knowledge of wrongdoing shows sanity.

There is enough direct and circumstantial evidence, therefore, to uphold that Zahir Jaffer was sane and of sound mind before, during, and after murdering Noor. Any ruling to the contrary would be extremely shocking, simply because the evidence expressing Zahir Jaffer's sanity speaks for itself and is impossible to ignore.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1661312/noor-mukadam-murder-zahir-jaffers-counsel-seeks-formation-of-medical-board-to-determine-his-mental-health

Noor Mukadam murder: Zahir Jaffer's counsel seeks formation of medical board to determine his 'mental health' Application says Zahir "is suffering from severe mental ailment which is necessary to be determined" through medical examination.

Our daily lives are marked by the purchase of goods and services.

Unfortunately, in Pakistan, there is no shortage of fraudulent, unethical, and dishonest sellers, who often provide faulty goods or services and then refuse to accept responsibility.

They refuse to accept returns and refunds and have no fear of being held accountable.

Most consumers, however, are not aware about their consumer rights provided in the Consumer Protection Act, 2005.

These rights, if availed promptly and within the limitation period, can be effectively used to compel the seller to accept a return, provide a refund, replace the product, and provide compensation for any damages, physical, emotional, or economic, arising out of the faulty product or service.

For more information on Consumer Protection, reach out to Muqsit Ali & Co. at the following:

🌐 https://muqsitali.co

🛑 https://www.instagram.com/muqsit.haiderali/

☎️ 0340-6254064

📍 10-F, Queen's Center, Queen's Road, Lahore

The most important concern for any commercial enterprise in Pakistan, whether it be a startup, e-commerce vendor, trader, or even a bank, is the issue of recovering money owed from customers.

It is very common for customers to prefer signing a cheque as the method of payment. Unfortunately, a large number of cheques are issued dishonestly, with the drawer knowing that he does not have sufficient funds in the account to pay for the goods or services purchased. As a result, the cheque is dishonoured, presenting a huge loss to the payee.

Moreover, both businesses and individuals sign contracts and agreements, such as service agreements, employment contracts, agreements to sell, and other contracts. Many times, the due amounts are not paid despite the existence of a written contract.

The only two ways of recovering the money owed to oneself is either: (i) private negotiation; or (ii) legal remedies.

Fortunately, if private negotiation fails, the law provides swift remedies for recovering payments, which can be done through taking criminal legal action (if applicable) or through filing a recovery suit. Both these legal remedies provide quick and effective relief, through which the payment can be recovered within a matter of weeks.

For further information, get in touch with Muqsit Ali & Co. through the following:

🌐 https://muqsitali.co

🛑 https://www.instagram.com/muqsit.haiderali/

☎️ 0321-8882214

📍 10-F, Queen's Center, Queen's Road, Lahore

Catch us live tomorrow (7th November) at 4 PM as we discuss this very important topic that is deeply relevant to Pakistani society.

https://www.facebook.com/GlobalInstituteOfLaw

The ever-increasing rates of cybercriminal activity has caught many individuals and companies in Pakistan off-guard.

The only way in which Pakistan's cyberlaws can become a useful deterrent against cybercriminal activity is if the laws are consistently and effectively implemented.

Muqsit Ali & Co. is regularly asked about the most efficient way to report a cybercrime.

Whilst almost everybody knows that the forum to report a cybercrime is the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), many cybercrime complaints are dismissed by the FIA because they do not provide the relevant details of the crime.

In this post, Muqsit Ali & Co. describes the most efficient way to report a cybercrime.

Muqsit Ali & Co. is committed to providing free of cost legal representation to any person affected by a cybercrime but cannot afford afford to pay legal fees.

4 STEPS TO REPORT A CYBERCRIME IN PAKISTAN People across the world are experiencing ever-higher levels of internet connectivity due to increased internet availability, the widespread prevalence of social media, and the proliferation of online tools. The internet has revolutionised not only our personal lives, but also the entire landscape of...

On October 21, 2021 Helena Hutchins passed away in an accidental killing on the filmset of a Hollywood movie called "Rust."

The killing resulted from a live round left inside a prop gun. When actor Alec Baldwin fired the prop gun, aiming at the camera, he unknowingly shot the cinematographer, Helena Hutchins, and injured the director, Joel Souza.

The question arises whether any criminal liability can be attached to Alec Baldwin. This video examines whether Alec Baldwin can be held guilty of any criminal offence.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbyt5LoJq4w

"Rust" Hollywood Accidental Killing: Is Alec Baldwin Guilty of any Offence? On October 21, 2021 Helena Hutchins passed away in an accidental killing on the filmset of a Hollywood movie called "Rust." The killing resulted from a live ...

Registering a Criminal Complaint in Pakistan has never been a straightforward process. However, there are certain common mistakes people usually make when trying to get a criminal complaint registered at a police station.

These mistakes can be easily avoided and will help ensure that your case is registered quickly and that its investigation is wrapped up faster.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLBpWh1bcRY

Three Common Mistakes to Avoid When Trying to File a Criminal Complaint Registering a Criminal Complaint in Pakistan has never been a straightforward process. However, there are certain common mistakes people usually make when tr...

Cases involving medical negligence or faulty medical services are on the rise in Pakistan. Whenever such cases occur, a victim and their family members desire to take criminal action against the doctor or healthcare provider, with the intention of putting the culprit behind bars.

However, what many people do not know is that one cannot directly approach the police or the courts to lodge a criminal case against a healthcare provider.

The law requires a victim to follow the procedure laid down in the Health Care Commission Act of the relevant province to pursue a complaint against a doctor. The Health Care Commission in each province supervises the provision of medical services and is in charge of determining whether a doctor committed negligence in the provision of such services.

Once the Health Care Commission has given an opinion which states that the doctor or healthcare facility was at fault, then a case - civil or criminal - can be pursued against the medical service provider.

Otherwise, the police and the courts are not empowered to take any action against the doctor.

Advocate Muqsit Haider Ali
Muqsit Ali & Co.: www.muqsitali.co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muqsitalico/
WhatsApp: 03218882214



https://youtu.be/TbZ7sL5IAuo

How to Take Action for Medical Negligence in Pakistan Cases involving medical negligence or faulty medical services are on the rise in Pakistan. Whenever such cases occur, a victim and his family members desire ...

One of the most regular queries of Clients involved in family cases is about the legal remedies they can avail to recover their child from the custody of their ex-spouse, who has forcibly taken away the child. The phenomenon is called parental kidnapping or parental child-snatching.

Usually, due to bitterness and resentment following a divorce or separation, a parent may remove their child from the custody of the other parent without seeking their consent. Such parents usually attempt to justify their actions by telling themselves that they are trying to ensure the best interests of the child. However, this is rarely the case.

Mostly, parental kidnapping is carried out to seek revenge against the other parent. Given that parents are naturally concerned about their children, parental kidnapping is a highly effective way of tormenting one’s spouse, who is kept in a state of constant worrying and anxiety as a result of being deprived of contact with their child.

In Pakistan, parental kidnapping is a fairly common and everyday occurrence. The legal remedy is to file a habeas corpus petition before a Court under section 491 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. A judge will order a police official to recover the child from the abducting parent and produce the child before the Court. Depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, the child will usually be released into the custody of the non-abducting parent.

Across the world, it is notoriously difficult for fathers to retain custody of their children, especially if they are infants.

However, in Pakistan, the legal representatives of fathers involved in custody cases sometimes resort to tactics that make it even more difficult to be awarded a child's custody.

Usually, in such cases, lawyers devote a bulk of their legal efforts to tarnishing the character of the other parent. This is not only unnecessary and unhelpful, but also undermines the case of the parent seeking custody.

Muqsit Ali & Co. regularly represents parents in child custody matters and advises each Client to focus on proving how they can secure the child's welfare better than the other parent.

Some helpful tips for father's seeking custody of their child is provided above.

Often, the purpose behind filing a defamation case is to silence, gag, and muzzle the recipient, and prevent the truth from getting out.

Many people rightfully share their grievance against a person with the public. Usually, their purpose being to expose the true nature of the person and warn the public against them.

If you, or someone you know, is being threatened with a defamation case, read further to find out your legal options.

Threatened with a Defamation case? Here is what you should do. The Reality of Defamation Cases As early as the twentieth century, the legal community recognized an unpleasant truth about defamation cases. Lawyers were aware that defamation cases, usually, are brought by people with tainted, blemished reputations in their social network. The phenomenon was best....

It is a common occurrence for us to purchase products or services from sellers, only to later find out that the product was faulty or the service was negligently performed.

If you feel that you have been sold a faulty, defective, or malfunctioning product or service, here is how you can take legal action against the seller.

Never Tolerate Defective or Malfunctioning Products Again. File a Claim before the Consumer Court. All of us, since the day we are born till the time we die, remain consumers. On a daily basis, most of us consume goods and services in different capacities, according to our needs and wants. We purchase mobile phones, laptops, home appliances, cars, and, in the case of women, jewelry and makeup as....

Advocate Muqsit Haider Ali, a criminal lawyer and a criminal law lecturer, is offering an online crash course for the criminal law (University of London syllabus) targeting the October exam session.

About the course:

✅ Cover full syllabus in 4 weeks
✅ Topic-wise notes before each class
✅ Solved essay questions
✅ Exam practice

Important:

⚠️ To register, contact now on 0321-8882214 or message us on Facebook on Instagram
⚠️ Enrollment ends on 31st August
⚠️ All classes on Microsoft Teams

To take criminal action for a bounced cheque, first you must send a legal notice to the issuer. This is mandatory. The notice must include the purpose for which the cheque was made, all the details of the cheque, and the reason why the bank dishonoured the cheque. Make sure to keep the receipt and the ‘confirmation of delivery’ slip issued by the delivery service.

If the issuer still does not respond, a criminal complaint must be drafted and submitted to the police. This is a sensitive document and therefore should be carefully written. It should also be mentioned that a legal notice was sent to the issuer and sufficient time was given to him for making payment.

The police will then verify your complaint with the bank and then register an FIR, following which investigation will commence, possibly leading to the issuer’s arrest.

***Muqsit Ali & Co. provides pro bono legal advice and representation to victims of cybercrimes at both the inquiry, pre-trial, and trial stage. This includes complaint drafting, evidence compiling, complaint filing, and trial representation services. If you or anyone you know is a victim of a cybercrime, please feel free to reach out through Facebook, WhatsApp, telephone, or email.***

Most of us who grew up in the digital era no longer marvel at our ability to instantaneously connect with people across the globe. We take it for granted that, with just a few thumb taps, we can access digital technologies that offer a free and open channel of communication with billions of people in cyberspace.

But, quite often, we fail to recognise the predators that lurk there.

Cyberstalkers are one such category of predators that use the internet to perpetrate a new class of crimes, namely cybercrimes.

A cyberstalker is usually a person known to the victim, an acquaintance, or someone she has met either briefly or in passing. He initiates contact with the victim through social media platforms or digital communication technologies, introducing himself to her and expressing a seemingly innocent willingness to get to know her.

When the victim refuses to engage with the stalker, his communication gradually becomes more urgent, transforming into a full-blown obsessional pursuit of the victim through all available online means. He may even explore the victim’s friendliest and contact her friends, relatives, or family members in a sustained, targeted attempt to pressurise the victim to engage with him. This can be quite troubling and worrisome for the victim, especially if she is a minor.

Whenever a cyberstalking complaint is received by the Federal Investigating Agency (FIA), the Investigating Officer (IO) first assesses the facts. He seeks to determine whether the facts really make out an offence of cyberstalking. He asks: Did the alleged stalker repeatedly and persistently attempt to interact with the victim, and were such attempts unwelcome? The IO then looks at the evidence to find out if there is enough material to support the facts. Repeated phone calls, missed calls, messages, images, Snapchats, videos, Instagram Reels, audio recordings, emails, and other internet-enabled communication all serve as valid evidence.

However, it quite often happens that the victim deletes the evidence, thereby unintentionally jeopardizing their case.

The victims may feel uncomfortable letting the stalker’s communication linger in their inbox and may find it necessary to delete it given that it may be genuinely offensive, abusive, or threatening.

But it must be understood that such communication is essential evidence and serves a vital role in proving the offence.

When the IO questions the stalker, the stalker will almost always try to shrug the matter off, saying that he never intended any harm to the victim, that the victim welcomed the communication, or that it was all a practical joke.

Though the stalker may initially seem harmless, the matter may later escalate to a point that the police has to be involved. If such an eventuality arises, then the evidence would be absolutely necessary to contradict and disprove the stalker’s defence and consequently charge him with an offence.

Pakistan recognizes cyberstalking as an offence under Section 24 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016. It is punishable with up to five (5) years in prison, or fine of up to ten million (10,000,000) rupees, or both. Any victim may lodge a complaint against a cyberstalker with the FIA, either herself, through her guardian, or a legal representative.

In the overwhelming majority of foreign jurisdictions across the world, reporting a crime is simply a matter of objectively communicating the general facts of the occurrence to a police officer, who then conducts an investigation to uncover the specific details and underlying motive behind the offence.

One would expect reporting a crime in Pakistan, too, to be a simple affair, but that is not the case.

Ask any criminal lawyer to pluck out a First Information Report (FIR) from one of their case files and they will show you that, in Pakistan, crimes are often reported with an absurd and unnatural level of detail.

For example, in a case involving multiple murders using fi****ms, the complainant of the FIR begins by describing the occurrence itself, moving on to detail the number of assailants present, their names, and which assailant held which firearm. But then, towards the latter half of the FIR, the complainant starts providing details wholly unexpected from a layperson. He states the gun calibre of each firearm and specifically mentions which gunshot was fired by which assailant and on which body part of the victim it struck. He lists the eyewitnesses present on the spot and also provides a possible motive for the murders. If the occurrence took place at night, he makes sure to mention a source of light at the crime scene to establish that there was sufficient lighting to enable the witnesses to catch sight of the assailants.

Obviously, ordinary human beings, when witnessing murder, cannot slow down time and track which gunshot struck which body part. They do not take a mental snapshot of the crime scene, commit every detail to memory, and subsequently report it with complete accurately to a police officer. Such incidents go by in a flash, with the surviving victims and witnesses too shocked and in fear for their lives to be able to soak in each detail of the crime scene.

So why then are crimes reported this way in Pakistan?

The answer is that, in Pakistan, over time, the criminal legal system has evolved in such a way that only those FIRs “succeed” which specifically pin every element of the offence on the accused and clearly ascribe a role to every accused. It is an open secret that FIRs aren’t supposed to be written by the complainant himself, or any aggrieved party for that matter. If the victim really wants to secure the conviction of the accused, the FIR must be drafted by a “professional”, usually a policeman who is well-acquainted with the practice of criminal law in Pakistan. Seeking out a so-called professional maximizes the chances of securing the accused’s conviction and preventing him from being released on bail.

When a crime occurs and the police arrives at the crime scene, the complainant provides the general facts of the occurrence and the names of persons he believes committed the crime. The Investigating Officer examines the crime scene, takes note of the injuries sustained by the victims, and takes any physical evidence into custody. Once all parties arrive at the police station, a professional is called to draft the FIR and make out the case against the accused. The professional uses the information gathered from the crime scene and that supplied by the complainant to construct a narrative that establishes each element of the crime against the proposed accused.

The practice of a “professionally drafted FIR” was adopted in the first place because the police does not have the capability or know-how to properly investigate a crime. Instead of conducting thorough police work and exercising professionalism whilst examining the crime scene, interviewing witnesses, interrogating suspects, and extracting physical and digital evidence, it dumps the entire burden of proving the crime, establishing the motive, and listing the suspects on the complainant. The complainant, in his FIR, must supply all the information necessary to make out an offence on part of the accused.

As a side effect of this practice, when an ordinary person unacquainted with the practice of criminal law in Pakistan goes to a police station and registers a truthful, honest complaint without consulting a professional, such an FIR fails to secure a conviction and allows the accused to be released on bail.

To survive the system, facts must be twisted, evidence must be fabricated, and lies must be told, all to strengthen the case against the accused and give the trial court everything it needs to award a conviction.