The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday accepted lawyer Iman Zainab Mazari-Hazir’s plea for dismissal of the plea. Case It was filed against him by the Pakistani military for “abusing and defaming the senior command” of the institution after expressing “regret” over his words.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who heard the petition, remarked during the hearing that Mazari-Hazir was a respected officer of the court and should not have uttered words even under “normal circumstances”.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Mazari-Hazir on May 26 at the Ramana police station in the capital on a complaint by Lt Col Syed Humayun Iftikhtar, representing the Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch of the General Headquarters (GHQ). ,
The JAG branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces is made up of senior military officers, lawyers and judges who provide legal services at all levels to the Army, Air Force, Navy and Navy. It comes under the Directorate of Law of the Army.
He was booked under sections 505 (abetment of people against armed forces) and 138 (abetment of act of disobedience by soldier) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The FIR said Mazari-Hazir made a “derogatory and hateful” statement on May 21, the day his mother, former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, Arrested In case of ownership and transfer of land from outside his house.
After the arrest of his mother, a video of a distraught Mazari-Hazir was shared on social media, in which he can be seen making a statement about Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
After the FIR was registered against him, Mazari-Hazir stated in his petition that “the FIR is false and the allegations are baseless”.
During the hearing today, Mazari-Hazir’s lawyer Advocate Zainab Janjua said that his client had appeared for every questioning on the orders of the court.
Two police vehicles had come to Mazari-Hazir’s house on Sunday night to give notice, they informed the court. “We requested the investigating officer to tell us what the allegations were. Our request was rejected and we were shown the video [of Mazari-Hazir’s remarks],
Janjua said he had submitted a detailed reply to the police on the same day. “We previously acknowledged that the video is [original] And we still accept it today.”
The lawyer further said that his client expressed “regret” at his words and admitted that “what happened should not have happened”.
“If the petitioner apologises, what is left in the matter?” he questioned.
However, counsel for the JAG branch argued that the word apology was not mentioned even once in the reply submitted by Mazari-Hazir. “If he has to apologise, he should do so in front of the media,” he said.
Thereafter, the court accepted Mazari-Hazir’s plea and dismissed the case against him.