ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to file a reference against a local Islamabad judge for declaring “illegal” a raid this week by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on the home of Pakistani journalist Mohsin Baig, local media reported.
Pakistani authorities Wednesday raided the home of Baig and arrested him after a dramatic scuffle in which the journalist fired a pistol toward police and hit one officer in the head with the weapon, injuring him, police said.
Mohsin Baig, owner and editor-in-chief of news outlet Online and the Urdu-language Daily Jinnah newspaper, was arrested days after he appeared on a TV talk show in which he suggested that Prime Minister Imran Khan had showed favoritism by granting an award to a government minister, Murad Saeed, with whom he has a close friendship.
Authorities say police and the Federal Investigation Agency went to Baig’s home on a complaint from Saeed in which he accused the journalist of tarnishing his character.
Hours after Baig’s arrest, Additional Sessions Judge Islamabad West Zafar Iqbal ruled on a petition against the journalist’s incarceration and declared the FIA raid illegal, saying it was carried out by “irrelevant persons who were not authorized to do so.”
Advocate General (AG) Islamabad Niazullah Niazi met Prime Minister Imran Khan after the arrest and briefed him about the case.
“After meeting with the Prime Minister, Advocate General Islamabad Niazullah Niazi told Geo News that an administrative petition will be filed in Islamabad High Court (IHC) against Additional Session Judge Zafar Iqbal, who presided over the hearing of Mohsin Baig’s case regarding the FIA raid at his home,” Geo News reported. “The government in the petition will plea to IHC [Islamabad High Court] Chief Justice to act against the Additional Session Judge of Islamabad.”
“He stated that Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that no one is above the law,” Geo reported. “Mohsin Baig fired at agency officers while the session judge had exceeded his mandate in the verdict, he said.”
Speaking to the Geo News Programme Aaj Shahzaib Khanzada Kay Saath, Niazi confirmed that the government would approach the IHC.
After Baig’s arrest, which was on the charges filed by minister Saeed, police opened a separate case against him on charges he attacked FIA officers and injured one of them.
Baig’s family told reporters police and officials from FIA arrested him without giving any reason for the arrest.
Baig’s arrest has drawn condemnation from Pakistani journalists on social media. Dozens of journalists also rallied outside Baig’s media house to express solidarity with him.
The government has given no immediate comment.
Pakistan has long been an unsafe country for journalists. In 2020, it ranked ninth on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ annual Global Impunity Index, which assesses countries where journalists are regularly killed and the assailants go free.
Pakistan government to sue judge who ruled raid on journalist Mohsin Baig’s house ‘illegal’
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Pakistan government to sue judge who ruled raid on journalist Mohsin Baig’s house ‘illegal’
- Baig was arrested on complaint of minister Murad Saeed who accused him of tarnishing his character during a talk show
- Baig fired a pistol toward police and injured one officer in a scuffle when FIA officials came to arrest him at his home
Pakistan, Libya discuss defense and counterterrorism cooperation during army chief’s visit
- Military says Field Marshal Asim Munir met Libyan Commander-in-Chief Khalifa Belqasim Haftar during the visit
- Unlike several other states in the region, bilateral defense collaboration remains limited between the two countries
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Libya discussed enhancing defense cooperation, with a focus on training and counterterrorism partnership, during a visit by Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir to the North African country, the military said in a statement on Thursday.
Pakistan and Libya established diplomatic relations in 1951, with ties particularly close during the era of former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, when Tripoli positioned itself as a supporter of Muslim causes and developing countries, including
Pakistan. Relations have been more restrained since Libya’s political upheaval in 2011.
According to the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Munir met Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, commander-in-chief of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces, and Lt. Gen. Saddam Khalifa Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief, during the visit.
“Both sides underscored the importance of collaboration in training, capacity building and counterterrorism domains,” ISPR said in a statement.
“Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening defense ties with Libya, based on shared interests,” it added.
ISPR said Munir was accorded a guard of honor by a contingent of the Libyan Armed Forces on arrival and that the talks also covered matters of mutual interest, regional security dynamics and avenues for expanding military-to-military cooperation.
The Libyan military leadership appreciated the professionalism of the Pakistan armed forces and expressed a desire to expand defense cooperation between the two countries, the statement said.
Unlike Pakistan’s relations with some Gulf and Middle Eastern states, there is currently no significant defense or military cooperation between Islamabad and Tripoli, with engagement remaining limited amid Libya’s prolonged political instability.
