Pak Supreme Court terms govt's summary on FIA chief as 'classified joke of the year'

Islamabad, Mar 12(ANI): Pakistan's Supreme Court has described the secret summary of the government pertaining to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Waseem Ahmed as the 'classified joke of the year', and observed that its obduracy in retaining Ahmed's services was a violation of the court's order.

Members of the bench read the contents of the material submitted by Interior Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry and then returned it, saying it would be in the interest of the government that the document remained classified because it would become a big joke if it were made public.

"This is a classified joke and we are being taken for a ride," the Dawn quoted Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, as saying.

The judges would not allow anyone to hoodwink the court, he added.

The apex court described the government's insistence on retaining Ahmed's services as FIA Director General as an excuse to flout its orders and a violation of the constitutional right of equality.

"Nobody likes the independent decisions of this court but the culture is changing and come what may we are here to perform our role," said Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who is heading a five-judge special bench looking into re-employment of civil servants on contract and mismanagement of the Haj operations last year.

The court said in its order that the government was required initially to look into the cases of officers of forces like police and the FIA who had been re-employed on contract after superannuation, including the FIA DG, but little progress had been made except the termination of the contracts of the Sindh police chief and some other police officials.

"The DG, FIA, is still continuing on the same post although, without prejudice to his case on merits, this court has made observations against him from time to time regarding poor investigation of the case in the Haj scam," the order said.

"While other members of the police have been removed, his retention, prima facie, seems to be discriminatory against the provisions of Article 25 of the Constitution because if all of them were serving on contract basis and according to the stand of the government, they were performing duties to the satisfaction, their services have been terminated but DG FIA, who is also a similarly placed person is continuing in office," it added.

The court adjourned the hearing until March 16. (ANI)