IHC not to review plea against Bajwa, Faiz on 28th

Case removed from court’s cause list on its website

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court has decided not to review the plea filed against ex-army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) head Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed on Nov 28 (Tuesday) as the case has been removed from its cause list. 

As per the court’s cause list issued a day earlier, a petition filed by a citizen, Muhammad Atif Ali, seeking the initiation of criminal proceedings against the former servicemen, was supposed to be heard by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq. 

During its hearing on Oct 28, the IHC issued notices to the respondents, including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) chief, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) chairman; Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA); journalists Javed Chaudhry and Shahid Maitla; Gen (retd) Bajwa; and Lt Gen (retd) Hameed, instructing them to submit their replies and relevant documents three days prior to Nov 28. 

However, the cause list on the IHC website on Sunday showed that the hearing for reviewing the plea would not take place on Tuesday. 

Read more: IHC to consider plea against Bajwa, Faiz on 28th

In his plea, the petitioner urged the court to direct the FIA to register a case and commence a criminal investigation against Gen (retd) Bajwa, Lt Gen (retd) Hameed, and several others. 

The petitioner stated that the journalists authored articles based on purported interviews with the retired generals, claiming that these news pieces had a “negative impact” on society. 

He claimed 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. 

The petitioner argued that General (retd) Bajwa was interviewed by two journalists, Chaudhry and Maitla, in a “reckless” manner and did not exhibit any sense of responsibility in publishing them. 

The petition claimed the disclosures made in the interviews were a violation of the Official Secrets Act and tantamount to inciting mutiny and disharmony. 

Read More: Ex-spymaster Faiz Hameed dispels speculations about joining politics

Contending that the respondents had committed a “cognisable offence”, it added that the articles raised certain questions on the conduct of military authorities that needed to be investigated. 

Gen (retd) Bajwa reportedly discussed the no-confidence motion against PTI Chairman Imran Khan, civil-military relations, and other matters in the interviews with the journalists. 

The petitioner also sought the court’s directions to Pemra to impose a ban on the two journalists. 

In March this year, the IHC registrar’s office raised an objection on the petition, saying that the high court was not an appropriate forum for the matter. 

The office asked the petitioner to approach the relevant authorities. When the petition was heard by the chief justice, he asked the FIA director general to proceed in accordance with the law. However, the petitioner during the hearing informed the court that the FIA had not taken any action. 
Later, the IHC CJ had issued notices to all the respondents.