The Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its judgment on a petition filed by an Airport Security Force (ASF) official against his dismissal over facilitating drug smuggling.
During the hearing on the petition of Asad Abbas Khan on Monday, the petitioner's lawyer said that the suspect from whom the drugs were recovered was named Zeeshan who introduced Fayyaz, an ASF Peshawar official, after which Khan guided him.
The Chief Justice asked whether according to the law, an ASF officer could facilitate the guest of another officer. He also inquired what action was taken against Fayyaz. Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Syed Tayyab Shah said that Fayyaz had been sacked.
Justice Minallah questioned what the sacked ASF official had said in his statement. The petitioner's counsel said that Khan was fired on the basis of presumption only. Fayyaz's statement without any evidence does not prove Khan’s involvement in drug trafficking, he maintained. The counsel added that he lives in a remote area and has no other source of livelihood other than this job.
The counsel further said that Khan had nothing to do with either of the suspects and there was no video footage or mobile record available to prove otherwise. He stated that the suspect had already crossed Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) and ASF counters, adding that if Khan was involved, ANF would have named him as a suspect in FIR.
The DAG said that Khan has submitted applications to the ASF director general (DG) and Aviation Division secretary, however, the petitioner's applications were rejected by both forums. He added that the CCTV camera footage and telephone conversation were also on record and no illegal course of action was taken against the suspect. DAG pleaded with the court to reject the petition.
The chief justice maintained that the counsel for the petitioner was dealing with a very difficult case but he had given very good arguments. The court reserved its decision after the conclusion of arguments from both sides.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2021.
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