Pak court to hear plea against former army chief Bajwa, ex-ISI head Hameed for distorting facts

Islamabad, Nov 25 (PTI) A top Pakistani court on Saturday fixed November 28 for hearing a plea against former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and ex-ISI head Lt Gen Faiz Hameed for allegedly violating the laws for retired servicemen by distorting facts during their media interviews.

A citizen, Atif Ali, had moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against Bajwa and Hameed. He also named journalists Javed Chaudhry and Shahid Maitla in his appeal who interacted with them and published details of their meeting.

According to the schedule of cases issued by the IHC for next week's hearing, the case of senior army officers has been fixed for Tuesday.

The petitioner contended that Chaudhry and Maitla conducted interviews of Bajwa in a “reckless” manner and the journalists failed to show any sense of responsibility in publishing them.

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

The plea sought registration of a criminal case against the two army officers and two journalists. It also asked to impose a ban on such interviews.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq on October 9 issued notices to all four named in the petition as well as the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), seeking their response.

Earlier this year, the former army chief reportedly discussed various matters including former prime minister Imran Khan’s ouster from power, civil-military ties and other issues in interviews with the two journalists, who wrote articles and talked to TV channels.

Bajwa retired last year after serving two terms as chief of the army staff and was replaced by General Asim Munir. However, Faiz opted for early retirement when he was overlooked in the choice of Bajwa’s successor. PTI SH SCY AKJ SCY SCY