File photo of Karim Khan. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqi issued the order today in relation to a petition filed by activist Karim Khan, who is a tribesmen from Mirali. The activist held former CIA station chief Jonathan Banks responsible for the killings of his 18-year-old son Zaheenullah and brother Asif Iqbal in a drone attack in Waziristan in December 2009.
"Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of IHC ordered today registration of a criminal case for offences of murder, conspiracy, waging war against Pakistan and offences under the provisions of Terrorism Act 1997," against the ex-chief, a statement by Khan's lawyers said.
Khan is being provided legal assistance by the Foundation for Fundamental Rights, a charity associated with Britain's Reprieve.
"Today's order is a victory for all those innocent civilians that have been killed in US-led drone strikes in Pakistan," he said.
"We are fighting this legal battle since 2010 and the police was reluctant to pursue our case but finally we did it, we won the war," Mirza Shahzad Akbar, his lawyer, added.
Khan had nominated Banks in his FIR application to the Secretariat Police Station in 2010 but police decided not to register the case after taking advice from their prosecution department which held that the application was not maintainable. Police had stated that the site of the drone strike does not fall under their jurisdiction.
In his application, Khan had maintained that Banks bought information from his local agents in the area to guide the drone strike. However, he had added that this information was wrong and misleading in most occasions and caused the deaths of innocent people.
Khan had earlier also sent a $500 million claim for damages to the US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, CIA chief Leon Panetta and Banks.
Blowing cover
Banks had lost his posting in December 2010 after Khan blew his cover by publicly naming him in his application for FIR in the Secretariat Police Station.
The US defence officials accused the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for blowing the CIA chief’s cover but the latter denied the allegations.
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@Parvez:
You mean the officials who have provided sanctuary to the Haqqani and other terrorist?
Parvez said it best. Pakistan is only looking for people to blame for their own internal lapses.
instead of wasting time on unnecessary case should dispose case pending for years..
@Parvez:
hes already on trial for treason.
@Parvez: Al-Bakistanis are quite good at dramas like this. All problems in the world are apparently created by the USA. This from a country that has survived on US AID.
Even without reading the news, I knew it would be Shaukat Aziz Siddiqi behind such an illogical decision. Can he ask the government to register FIRs against the known terrorists who claimed responsibility to the scores of attacks leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
.....and what good will that do ? Why not take action against our officials who allowed this ?