‘Serious’ allegations against ex-ISI chief Faiz Hameed ‘cannot be left unattended’: SC

The Supreme Court (SC) said on Tuesday that allegations of an “extremely serious nature” against ex-spymaster retired Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed “cannot be left unattended” as they would undermine the reputation of the country’s institutions if they were proven to be true.

The observations came after the court issued the written order for the November 8 hearing of a petition filed by Moeez Ahmed Khan, owner of the Top City housing scheme, under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.

The petitioner had alleged that the ex-spymaster had misused his office, adding that crimes were committed against him and his family on Gen Hameed’s orders.

During the Nov 8 hearing, a bench comprising Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Aminuddin and Justice Athar Minallah had asked the petitioner to approach the relevant quarters, including the defence ministry, for the redressal of grievances against Gen Hameed and his aides.

The written order issued today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, 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 written order also highlighted that the nature of a case filed under Article 184(3) was different from other cases. It said that under the article, the SC exercised original power and “whenever original power is exercised it must be done cautiously”.

It added that direct intervention by the court may “adversely affect the rights of others”.

The order also addressed the concerns raised by the petitioner that his complaint would not be entertained by the defence ministry as the respondents “had held senior positions in the armed forces”.

“However, the learned additional attorney general (AAG) 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, therefore, the apprehension of the applicant is misplaced,” the order said.

“Accordingly, if the applicant submits a complaint/grievance to the Ministry of Defence of the government of Pakistan, it shall be dealt with in accordance with law,” it added, disposing of the petition.

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.

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”.