Islamabad High Court on Monday dismissed a plea urging for high treason case, placing name of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and ex-cabinet members on no-fly list after Khan remained unsuccessful to fetch confidence vote in the National Assembly a day ago.
A Karachi based lawyer Moulvi Iqbal Haider has invoked jurisdiction of the Islamabad High Court, making federal government and others as respondents in the matter has invoked the jurisdiction of Islamabad. He sought the court directives for initiating proceedings under the High Treason (Punishment) Act,1973 against Imran Khan, former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistani Ambassador in the USA. The petitioner also urged the court to place names of all the respondents on the Exit control List (ECL).
Announcing a five-page verdict in matter the Chief Justice of the IHC Athar Minallah noted, “The petitioner has appeared and has been heard. He has claimed that the treason case against General (Retd) Pervaiz Musharraf was initiated pursuant to acceptance of his petition”.
The CJ further said, “The assertions made in the memorandum of the petition are vague and they are not supported by any credible material so as to justify making of a diplomatic cable as the subject of the litigation in hand”.
After discussing fundamental duties and diplomatic norms across the globe, the CJ was of the view that bringing sensitive and informal diplomatic conversations into public domain is likely to harm the image of Pakistan and its foreign policy. “It is, therefore, contrary to public interest and national security to make diplomatic cables controversial”, the CJ said.
Citing the cable referred to the petition in hand, the court termed Pakistani diplomat in USA enjoyed good reputation saying the cable was placed before the National Security Committee (NSC). “It appears that the latter was satisfied that no probe was required. Such sensitive and complex matters ought to be dealt with by the foreign office of Pakistan, rather making them controversial through litigation”, stated the CJ.
The CJ mentioned the lawyer as an enrolled one saying, “It is ironic that an enrolled and responsible advocate is alleging treason against a former elected Prime Minister of Pakistan and seeking a direction for initiation of proceedings against him. The rhetoric of treason is deprecated. No citizen can claim to be more patriotic than the other. Likewise no citizen has the right to declare others as having committed treason. Every citizen is presumed to be patriotic and loyal to the State unless otherwise declared by a competent court of law”.
“The allegations and assertions made against a former elected Prime Minister in the memorandum of the petition are deprecated. Moreover, making the cable sent by a diplomat of Pakistan controversial and subject of litigation is against public interest and the interests of the State. It is an onerous duty of every citizen to ensure that sensitive national security issues are not sensationalized nor politicized. Dragging the diplomats and their classified reporting and assessments into political controversies could undermine Pakistan’s national interests, its diplomacy and external relations”, the CJ said in its verdict.
The Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court dismissed the petition and imposed a cost of Rs.100,000/- on the petitioner saying the petition is frivolous as the petitioner has unjustifiable attempted to make the cable controversial.
