Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan said on Friday that he will write a letter to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir not for his personal benefits but for the sake of the country.
Talking to journalists at Adiala jail during the hearing of the £190 million case, Imran praised Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, calling him a courageous person.
Khan also questioned why the petitions of PTI workers regarding May 9 are not being heard.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa has said during today’s hearing in a case related to harassment of journalists that “Nowadays there is selective reporting and sometimes outright lies, so we will run our own YouTube channel.”
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued a written order addressing the allegations made by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Top City-1 Housing Society against the former Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed.
The Supreme Court observed that allegations leveled by the private housing society CEO against the former spy chief are of an “extremely serious nature” and would tarnish the reputation of the federal government if proven true.
Topcity owner’s plea against ex DG ISI Faiz Hameed:
Supreme Court written order says that the allegations are of an extremely serious nature, and if true, undoubtedly would undermine the reputation of the federal govt, the Armed Forces, ISI and Pakistan Rangers, therefore, they… pic.twitter.com/iZdEUdFy7U— Hasnaat Malik (@HasnaatMalik) November 14, 2023
The observations come as the top court issued a written order for the November 8 hearing of the petition filed by Moeez Ahmed Khan against the former general.
The three-member bench, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa, alongside Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aminuddin Khan, had disposed of the constitutional petition last week.
The petitioner, Moeez Ahmed Khan, had alleged abduction by retired army officers, including Gen Faiz.
The written order said: “The allegations are of an extremely serious nature, and if true, undoubtedly would undermine the reputation of the federal government, the armed forces, ISI and Pakistan Rangers, therefore, they cannot be left unattended.”
The court noted that Moeez may have reservations that a complaint filed in the Ministry of Defence would not be entertained because the accused held senior positions in the armed forces.
“However, the learned AAG (Additional Attorney General) has assured us that the complaint/grievance will be given due consideration, and we have no reason to doubt this statement made on behalf of the government of Pakistan,” the court noted in its order, adding that the apprehension of the applicant is “misplaced.”
“Accordingly, if the applicant (Moeez Ahmed Khan) submits a complaint/grievance to the Ministry of Defence of the government of Pakistan, it shall be dealt with in accordance with law,” Chief Justice Isa observed as he disposed of the matter.
Additionally, the order granted the applicant the liberty to explore other legal remedies as per the established legal procedures.
The Petition
As per the petition, on May 12, 2017, the Pakistan Rangers and officials of the ISI raided the office of Top City and Moeez’s residence and took away valuables, including gold and diamond ornaments and money, in connection with a purported terrorism case.
“On May 12, 2017, my house and office were raided on the orders of General (Rtd) Faiz Hamid. During the raid, valuables and records of our private housing society were stolen,” the petitioner had claimed.
The petition further stated that Gen Hameed’s brother Sardar Najaf mediated and tried to resolve the issue. After his acquittal, the petition claimed, Gen Hameed contacted Moeez through the latter’s cousin — a brigadier in the army — to arrange a meeting.
The petition claimed that during the meeting, Gen Hameed told the petitioner that he would return some of the items taken away during the raid except for 400 tola gold and cash.
The petition claimed that retired brigadier Naeem Fakhar and retired brigadier Ghaffar of the ISI allegedly “forced” the petitioner to “pay 4 crores in cash” and “sponsor a private AAP TV network for a few months”.
As per the petition, former ISI officials Irtaza Haroon, Sardar Najaf, Wasim Tabish, Zahid Mehmood Malik, and Mohammad Munir were also “involved in the illegal takeover of the housing society”.
Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa has remarked that having a beard does not make a person a Muslim, people themselves marry for love and then it becomes an issue for the court as per Aaj news.
The case of the extradition of two minor girls was heard in the Supreme Court by a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
The court ordered the two girls to be handed over to their mother, ordering that the father of the girls will be able to visit the girls on Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm, and if the father violated the court order, contempt of court action will be taken against him.
The lawyer of the father pleaded with the court that the girls should be with the father, as their mother works at night, and does not have time to take care of them.
Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa expressed his anger and asked whether the lawyer has read the principle of extradition in Islam or not, stressing that according to Shariat, children stay with their mothers.
The Chief Justice remarked that we are Muslims in name only, our work is not that of Muslims, just having a beard does not make a person a Muslim, action must also be taken. Prayer, fasting, and Hajj are not enough, he observed, adding that humanity and morals are also necessary. If the parents are not divorced, their mutual resentment will spoil the future of the children.
The Chief Justice asked the children’s father whether he had a love marriage or an arranged marriage.
Taimur, the father of the children, said that it was a love marriage.
The Chief Justice remarked that people themselves marry for love, and then they become an issue for the court.
The Supreme Court disposed of the case with the consent of the parents.
On March 29 and March 30, 2023, the National Assembly and Senate, respectively, adopted and enacted the (Practice and Procedure Bill) 2023. Without his signature, the President remitted the bill for review, but on April 10, 2023, the Joint Session of Parliament once more passed the Act after it had complied with all rules and procedures.
According to the Act, each case, appeal, and subject before the Supreme Court will be heard by benches formed by a committee comprising of the Chief Justice and the two senior most judges.
It further stated that any issue involving the use of original jurisdiction under Article 184, paragraph (3), shall be brought before the committee for consideration first.
The committee must then assemble a bench of at least three Supreme Court justices, which may also include committee members, if it deems that the issue involves the enforcement of one or more fundamental rights.
According to the Act, an appeal must be submitted within 30 days of the larger bench of the Supreme Court obtaining jurisdiction over it and its hearing date must be scheduled no later than 14 days after that. When submitting a review application, it also offers a party the flexibility to choose the lawyer of its choice.
On Sunday, Justice Qazi Faez Isa took the oath of office to become the 29th Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). Before the swearing-in began, Justice Faiz Isa also called his wife, Mrs. Sarina Isa, to the stage, where she remained until the end of the oath.
After taking the oath, Qazi Faez Isa took multiple steps that have not been taken before.
For the first time in judicial history, a woman has been appointed registrar of the Supreme Court when Lahore district and session judge Jazeela Aslam was appointed on the post.
Jazeela Aslam also served as a session judge in Kasur and Sialkot.
Jazeela Aslam completed her BA from Kinnard College Lahore and her LLB from Punjab University. She also passed the competitive judiciary exam on second-place in all of Punjab.
Secondly, CJP Faez Isa also called a full court meeting on Monday to discuss several issues, like the live telecast of the court proceeding. On the other hand, former CJP Umar Atta Bandial didn’t hold a full court meeting in his whole tenure as CJP.
It can also be seen for the first time in the country’s judicial history that the Supreme Court’s full court, comprising all 15 judges, will hear a set of petitions challenging the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, and the hearing will be live on TV.
The CJP Faez Isa reached the apex court today in his personal car without any protocol and said to the staff of the court that “people come to the Supreme Court to solve their problems. Treat visitors like guests.”
Federal Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar have denied serious allegations levelled by ex-FIA director general (DG) Bashir Memon.
Reacting to Memon’s statement, wherein he had accused PM Imran among others of framing Justice Qazi Faez Isa and major political player, the premier’s adviser on accountability Akbar vehemently rejected the same.
He said Memon had committed “slander” and said he had directed his lawyers to initiate legal action against the former head of the FIA.
“Just seen absolute rubbish uttered by Bashir Memon on Shahzeb show. He was never called for any meeting with PM or myself on QFI (Qazi Faez Isa) issue, and there was no meeting with law minister and him as he claims,” he said in a tweet, “similarly he was never told to start any case against any specific individual. Only case referred to FIA was of sedition by the fed cabinet. I have instructed lawyers in personal capacity to initiate legal action for his slander.”
Law minister Naseem said all allegations levelled by Memon were false and baseless, adding that he never spoke a word to the former DG FIA about Justice Isa. He also pinpointed that Azam Khan, Shahzad Akbar and Bashir Memon had never showed up at his office, contrary to Memon’s allegations.
“PM Imran Khan, Azam Khan, or Shahzad Akbar never told me that they had a word about Justice Isa with Bashir Memon,” he added.