The Islamabad High Court (IHC) convened on Monday and issued notices to former army chief, General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa, and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, Lt Gen (retired) Faiz Hameed. The duo faces allegations of misrepresenting facts related to national events during media interviews after their retirement.
Notices Extend to Media Personalities and PEMRA
The IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq expanded the circle of notices. Journalists Javed Chaudhary, Shahid Maitla, and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) have been brought into the ambit because of petitions filed by citizen Atif Ali. At the heart of these petitions are accusations against the aforementioned journalists. It is contended that they penned articles based on the retired generals’ interviews, resulting in content with a detrimental societal impact.
Quest for Legal Action
The grievance raised by the petitioner emphasizes the alleged misdeeds masked as “freedom of speech,” terming them as criminal. Despite efforts to get a case registered, the authorities have remained unresponsive. The plea thus urges the IHC to direct relevant authorities towards case registration.
Atif Ali’s petitions argue that the former generals, Bajwa and Faiz, distorted national events and dented the image of state institutions through their portrayal in the articles. The overarching narrative attempts to sow distrust between the populace and state bodies.
In a backdrop to this, earlier in the year, discussions around various subjects, including PTI chief Imran Khan’s removal from power and civil-military dynamics, were reportedly touched upon by the former army chief in interviews with the implicated journalists.
