IHC to hear Farhatullah Babar’s plea today

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday fixed for urgent hearing a petition filed by ex-senator Farhatullah Babar against alleged harassment by the FIA.

The petition was filed under Article 199 of the Constitution by advocates Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha against the ministry of interior, the FIA and others as respondents, seeking court intervention against “the unlawful, illegal, arbitrary and mala fide conduct in continuously harassing the petitioner through repeated issuance of ambiguous and illegal notices and summons, in what is an illegal fishing expedition/roving enquiry by the FIA in violation of laws and principles of natural justice”. The petition said the FIA enquiry was initiated on March 25 on the complaint of a citizen living in Morgah Rawalpindi, alleging “suspected corruption, tax evasion and illicit asset accumulation”. The petitioner appeared before the FIA on March 28 a day before Eid holidays. No copy of the complaint was provided to him. Referring to his legislative initiatives attempting to bring intelligence agencies under the ambit of the law, the petitioner said as a result of his principled public participation, he faced threats, intimidation and harassment. It is also documented in a United Nations Special Rapporteur communication in March 2023 addressed to the government of Pakistan, calling for investigations into the alleged existence of a “Kill List” pertaining to death threats to several individuals including Farhatullah Babar.

The petition prayed to the court to set aside FIA notices, declaring them illegal and quash the enquiry and direct the respondents not to harass the petitioner. It also prayed that the FIA be directed to provide a list of allegations on the basis of which the enquiry has been initiated. The petition is set to be heard today (Thursday) by Justice Inam Amin Minhas.