Lt-Gen Obaidullah held key strategic position

ISLAMABAD: Lt-Gen Obaidullah Khan Khattak, who has been sacked by the Army Chief, headed country’s most important Army Strategic Forces Command (ASFC) from January 2014 to September 2015, after remaining involved in corruption-related activities as the Inspector-General Frontier Corp (FC) Balochistan from 2010 to 2013.

General Obaidullah served as IG FC Balochistan as Major General from 2010 to 2013 and then he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.

The sources said Adjutant Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat initiated an inquiry on the orders of the army chief, against the army officials.

Senior analyst Syed Talat Hussain has commented on a social networking website, “There will be global focus on the strategic positions that some of those dismissed have held. How does Pakistan pre-empt speculation of system leakage”.

Another strong view is that any person whether he is on an important position is not spared when he is found of committing a crime.

General Obaidullah was the IG FC Balochistan when Supreme Court took up the case of missing persons. The SC summoned him many times but he always sent a junior officer, who told the court that the IG was busy.

The then chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry expressed displeasure over the act of General Obaidullah and commented, “This is the Supreme Court of Pakistan, not a joke.

“Time had come to pass a coercive order against him and send it to Gen Kayani (the then army chief) and the interior secretary to look into the conduct of the general.

“It is not the job of the people in uniform to address press conferences. We have taken strong exception to the press conference of IG-FC. Is he overtaking the Supreme Court!” are the famous remarks of the then CJ about General Obaidullah Khattak.

There is no official confirmation of the dismissal of the army officers or any denial in this regard by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).