ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued a show-cause notice to the cybercrime wing of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for “misuse of power” in a case relating to last week’s arrest of journalist Mohsin Baig, local media reported.
An FIA team raided the Baig’s home and arrested him on February 16 after a dramatic scuffle, during which the journalist fired shots at the police and hit one of the officers in the head with the weapon, and injured him.
Baig was arrested on a defamation complaint filed by Pakistani communications minister Murad Saeed. Hours after the arrest, Additional Sessions Judge Islamabad West Zafar Iqbal, while hearing a petition against his detention, declared the FIA raid “illegal,” saying it was carried out by “irrelevant persons who were not authorized to do so.”
On Monday, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard a petition filed by Baig’s wife against the FIA raid and the detention of her husband. The court observed the FIA was continuously “misusing power on the directives of public office holders,” Geo News reported.
“Such a role by an agency or the state in a democratic country is not tolerable,” the report quoted Chief Justice Minallah as saying. “[The court] won’t let the FIA become a rogue agency.”
FIA laws demanded that in case of a complaint the agency “first conduct an inquiry but you didn’t abide by it because the complaint was filed by a minister,” the judge noted.
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.
The judge asked FIA officials why three other participants of the show were not arrested who also spoke on the same topic. The court ordered the FIA cybercrime wing director to submit an affidavit, explaining it should not take action against him for the “misuse of power.”
It issued a show-cause notice to the FIA cybercrime wing director and adjourned the hearing till February 24.
Baig’s arrest drew condemnation from Pakistani journalists on social media, with dozens also gathering outside Baig’s media house to express solidarity with him.
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 scot-free.
Pakistani court issues show-cause notice over ‘misuse of power’ in journalist arrest case
https://arab.news/gggdv
Pakistani court issues show-cause notice over ‘misuse of power’ in journalist arrest case
- Federal Investigation Agency raided journalist Mohsin Baig’s home, arrested him on defamation complaint
- Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah says the court ‘won’t let the FIA become a rogue agency’
PM calls for tapping gemstone reserves as Pakistan pushes for economic recovery
- Pakistan this month approved first national policy framework for precious stones, aiming to lift annual exports to $1 billion
- PM Shehbaz Sharif directs implementation of new policy framework, completion of Islamabad Gemstone Center by Aug. 2027
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday called for tapping Pakistan’s vast gemstone reserves, Sharif’s office said, as Islamabad seeks to boost their exports to support economic recovery.
The development comes two weeks after Pakistan approved its first national policy framework for gemstones and precious stones, aiming to reform the sector, align it with international standards and lift annual exports to $1 billion within five years.
Pakistan has intensified efforts to monetize its untapped mineral resources, amid fiscal pressures and an International Monetary Fund-backed reform program. Over the past two years, Islamabad has hosted international minerals conferences and signed agreements with countries including the United States, Saudi Arabia and China to attract investment and move up the value chain in mining and minerals processing.
On Monday, PM Sharif presided over a meeting on the promotion of precious stones and minerals in Islamabad, at which he directed seeking services of relevant experts of international repute for the construction of proposed gemstone centers in Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, according to his office.
“There is a need to utilize the potential of gemstone reserves in Pakistan so that valuable foreign exchange can be earned from the exports of these precious stones,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office.
Despite officials estimating Pakistan’s gemstone reserves at around $450 billion, formal exports remain negligible, at about $5.8 million annually, due to weak certification systems, limited domestic processing capacity, widespread smuggling and fragmented regulation across federal and provincial authorities.
Pakistan’s new policy framework includes geological mapping to accurately assess reserves, the establishment of internationally accredited laboratories and certification regimes and the creation of a dedicated authority to regulate and promote the sector. The government also plans to set up a National Warranty Office and centers of excellence to support training, research and value-added processing.
The prime minister directed the implementation of the policy framework and the completion of Islamabad Gemstone Center by Aug. 2027.
A location has been identified on the Constitution Highway for the establishment of a gemstone center in Islamabad, according to Sharif’s office. The center will provide international standard value addition services, certification, incubation center and trade center facilities.
“Exports should be increased through value addition in the gemstone industry,” he said, urging officials to work together with the governments of all provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir to promote the industry.
