Justice Babar Sattar of the Islamabad High Court expressed his displeasure in response to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) ‘s objection regarding his jurisdiction to preside over a particular case.
The case involved six judges from the Islamabad High Court, prompting the Deputy Attorney General to request that Justice Sattar recuse himself.
Justice Sattar rejected the FIA’s objection and responded by dismissing their application, imposing a significant fine of 500,000 PKR. During the proceedings, he openly questioned the relationship between the FIA and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), asking, “What does the FIA have to do with the ISI? Is the FIA a proxy for the ISI?”
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Further asserting his judicial independence, Justice Sattar declared his intention to proceed with hearing the applications submitted by various national institutions. “I will decide upon hearing the applications that have come in. The IB, FIA, and PTA are serious institutions. I will hear their applications and make decisions. They have filed the applications; now I will listen to them,” he affirmed.
Seeking clarity on the procedural authority for filing these applications, Justice Sattar inquired, “Who gave them the authority to file these applications?” Additional Attorney General Manzoor Iqbal Dogal responded, stating that the Director-General of the FIA had authorized the Assistant Director to file the applications.
Justice Sattar then further scrutinized the matter, requesting, “Read the relevant part of the application where I have been objected to,” thereby continuing his evaluation of the case’s procedural aspects.
