The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has scheduled a hearing for a plea against former army chief Gen (rtd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, ex-spymaster Lt Gen (rtd) Faiz Hameed, and two journalists. The case pertains to allegedly flouting the Official Secrets Act on Tuesday (November 28).
The plea, filed by Atif Ali, a concerned citizen, seeks the registration of a case against journalists Javed Chaudhry, Shahid Maitla, and the former generals over news reports regarding the ex-military officers’ role in politics. The petitioner contends that the interview of ex-Gen Bajwa was conducted recklessly and the journalists did not show any sense of responsibility in publishing them.
The petition claims that the revelations made in the interview(s) are a violation of the Official Secrets Act and tantamount to inciting mutiny and disharmony. It requests the court to issue directions to the DG FIA to register an FIR against the former chief of army staff, ex-Inter Services Intelligence chief, and the journalists.
Additionally, it seeks directions from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority to impose a ban on the two journalists. The IHC chief justice had initially asked the DG FIA to proceed in accordance with the law after the petition was heard. However, the petitioner claimed that the investigation agency did not take any action.
The IHC has also fixed a hearing for November 30 for former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s appeals against the punishment awarded to him and the verdict in the Toshakhana case, including his disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan.