03 March, 2011 - Published 17:32 GMT

Registration of citizens in the north suspended

Government will immediately suspend registration of citizens in the north.

Attorney General gave an undertaking to suspend this programme when a fundamental rights case against this programme was taken up for hearing on Thursday.

Illegal

Five Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians filing a petition in the Supreme Court said that it was illegal for military to carry out such a registration process in the Jaffna and Killinochchi districts.

Emergency regulations

Lawyer representing the five MPs challenged that as certain sections of emergency regulations have been abolished there is no legal provision for registration of residents .

Attorney General has agreed that registration of residents in the north is illegal.