IHC to consider plea against Bajwa, Faiz on 28th

CJ Farooq to decide on petition seeking criminal proceedings against former servicemen

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is scheduled to review a plea on Tuesday, Nov 28, seeking the initiation of a case against former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed.

As per the cause list issued on Saturday, the petition filed by a citizen Syed Muhammad Atif Ali will be heard by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq.

The petitioner urged the court to direct the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to register a case and commence a criminal investigation against General (retd) Bajwa, Lt Gen (retd) Hameed, as well as several others.

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The petitioner's writ named respondents, including the FIA chief, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority chairman, the Pakistan Telecom Authority, the Press Association of Pakistan, journalists Javed Chaudhry and Shahid Maitla, General Bajwa, and General Hameed.

During the previous hearing on Oct 10, the IHC had issued notices to the respondents, instructing them to submit a reply.

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Stating that the journalists authored articles based on purported interviews with the retired generals, the petitioner claimed that these articles had a “negative impact” on society.

He asserted that these articles, under the guise of freedom of speech, amounted to a “criminal act”.

According to the petitioner, these news pieces, aiming for ratings, presented a derogatory image of state institutions.