Murder case registered against former US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) station chief in Islamabad for a drone strike in 2009. PHOTO: AFP
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui sought records of the case and related correspondence between the police and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Secretariat.
The court also issued notices to the inspector general of the Islamabad Police, City Superintendent of Police, Secretariat SHO, chief commissioner, and state counsel.
The Secretariat police had registered a murder case against Jonathan Banks on IHC orders, but later transferred the case to the FATA Secretariat.
The petitioner, Kareem Khan, who hails from Mir Ali, lost his teenage son Zahinullah and brother Asif Iqbal in the drone attack on December 31, 2009. He nominated Banks and other American officials in the case.
In the hearing, Khan’s counsel Mirza Shahzad Akbar said that the police registered the case on court orders but later transferred it to the FATA Secretariat on the grounds that the crime did not take place in an area that falls under their jurisdiction.
Opposing the ground, Akbar said that investigation of the case should be conducted where it has been registered, and if the police cannot probe the issue, it should be investigated by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
In his argument, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Hasnain Ibrahim Kazmi said that the incident took place in FATA and investigations should also take place in the area where the crime took place under existing Police Rules.
While talking to The Express Tribune, Akbar asked, “Who will investigate the case when there is no police station in FATA.” He said transferring the case was a misapplication of law.
Following the hearing, the case was adjourned till June 25.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2015.
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