The IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq issued the notices while hearing a petition filed by a citizen named Atif Ali that demanded registration of a case against the two former generals as well as two journalists.

In his request, the petition said that interviews of the former army chief were done carelessly by the journalists, Javed Chaudhry and Shahid Maitla. He said that the journalists acted irresponsible in publishing the interviews.

According to the petitioner, the revelations that the former COAS made in the interview(s) flouted the Official Secrets Act and were equivalent to inciting mutiny and disharmony.

In March, the IHC registrar office had asked the petitioner to reach out to other relevant authorities as the high court was not the right forum for such a petition. But the petition was ultimately heard by the chief justice, and he ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) DG to do what is required under the law. But the petitioner claimed, during the hearing, that the FIA took no action.

The chief justice then issued notices to all respondents, including Generals (r) Bajwa, Hameed, the two journalists, and the FIA.

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While referring to a viral picture wherein General (r) Bajwa and his son could be seen waiting for the signal to cross a road in Dubai, the journalist said he “broke down” seeing them wait without any security protocol, considering in Pakistan even hours before his departure for a place, the highways and roads would be closed off to the general public.

He recounted that one such incident involved his son, Muhammad Umar Absar.

He shared that in March 2020, his son, who was supposed to watch a Pakistan Super League match with his cousins and was waiting for them to arrive outside the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, called them, and “that phone call became his crime”, he added.

He said that the former chief of staff was also supposed to watch the same match with his family amid heavy security protocol.

The veteran journalist narrated the stringent security measures that were taken for General (r) Bajwa and his family, which included a heavy contingent of Pakistan armed forces, as well as snipers and rangers.

He said that however, at the time his son made the phone call to his cousins, General (r) Bajwa was still in Washington and there were two hours left before his departure to Pakistan.

Upon seeing his son making the call, “all hell broke loose” as he was detained by the officers of the Pakistan Army and police for ‘breaching’ the security, he claimed.

Absar Alam further claimed that upon knowing that the 20-year-old was his son, he was beaten up and detained. He alleged that the torture continued even after his son was taken to a police station and locked up with criminals.

The journalist added that his son was accused of breaching the security of General (r) Bajwa and beating a government official.

He lamented that to this day his son is seeking therapy while adding that this is not just a story of his son but of “thousands of sons of this country” who laid their lives for the country on “internal or external adventures like Kargil”.

Absar Alam further said that sons of thousands of families belonging to various ethnicities, including Baloch, Pashtun, Sindhi, Muhajir, Kashmiri, and Punjabi, are missing but they still choose to stay in Pakistan. However, people like General (r) Bajwa decide to settle their families abroad.

JOURNALISTS CONDEMN THE INCIDENT:

Fellow journalists and politicians have condemned the incident and expressed support for the journalist and his family.

Journalist Haroon Rashid said: “Sorry to hear about your and your family’s ordeal. Every day we hear new sad tale, yet we don’t see any change for better only more mess”

Sorry to hear about your and your family’s ordeal. Every day we hear 🆕 sad tale, yet we don’t see any change for better only more mess

— Haroon Rashid (@TheHaroonRashid) February 13, 2023

Mushtaq Yusufzai said: “Very painful, reminded me my ordeals. Though we are used to such things, I couldn’t sleep for days when I was picked up first time, without any reason. The only question that I would ask myself “why”.”

Very painful, reminded me my ordeals. Though we are used to such things, I couldn’t sleep for days when I was picked up first time, without any reason. The only question that I would ask myself “why”.

— Mushtaq Yusufzai (@MYusufzai) February 13, 2023

Columnist and anchorperson Moeed Pirzada said: “We should all be thankful to Absar Alam for being brave to tell us the reality of this country & its real corrupt elite! Most of us, including myself, have failed to even understand the real problem! Absar has explained it well! Must Read, every line till end!”

We should all be thankful to Absar Alam for being brave to tell us the reality of this country & its real corrupt elite! Most of us, including myself, have failed to even understand the real problem! Absar has explained it well! Must Read, every line till end! https://t.co/iOrPt8I0qE

— Moeed Pirzada (@MoeedNj) February 12, 2023

Politician Bushra Gohar also expressed her support.

Stay strong, BG

— Bushra Gohar (@BushraGohar) February 12, 2023

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The Vote of No-Confidence last year was meant to be some big democratic win against this ridiculous hybrid regime that was inflicted upon us by the same generals to whom the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) kow-towed, and is continuing to kow-tow in their desperation for some semblance of power. Whatever this version of power is means nothing really when our biggest issues, including enforced disappearances and broader issues of resource capture and abuse of law to suppress thought and dissent, remain untouched. It would appear neither the establishment nor the political elite respect civil liberties. The tragedy is that even the celebrated ouster of Imran Khan (brought in by the generals), through a Constitutional and democratic process, in itself couldn’t have taken place without the establishment’s nod of approval. There is no neutrality. And there wont be any till politicians stop targeting each other to win favour with the military. What was wrong yesterday does not become right today because those who said the right things yesterday are in power — no one stands up for principles when they are in power.

I will perhaps believe claims of “neutrality” when things on ground actually change – when courts function independently, when trumped up cases are not registered against journalists, activists, politicians and others. At the very least, to show even a tiny glimmer of “neutrality,” MNA Ali Wazir could have been released — the same Ali Wazir without whose vote this government would not even be here today. But such is “neutrality” in Pakistan — we keep being told with a gun to our heads to accept this “neutrality.”

In the last few months alone, the number of Baloch students being picked up on a daily basis seems to have increased. When protestors in Gwadar came out onto the streets, there was an internet shutdown for ten days and hundreds were either illegally arrested or forcibly disappeared. When people in Gilgit-Baltistan came out in huge numbers, hardly any media reported the protest. Issues of the peripheries remain their issues — the Federation seems least bothered. It is not on the agenda to improve the situation of human rights — that is why once again we are seeing a resurgence of terrorism and the groundwork being laid for another round of giving up our civil liberties on the pretext of “national security.”

At the very least, to show even a tiny glimmer of “neutrality,” MNA Ali Wazir could have been released — the same Ali Wazir without whose vote this government would not even be here today.

The issue of people from the “peripheries” neither feature in mainstream political discourse nor in mainstream media. The racial profiling of Baloch students in Islamabad and Punjab resulted in the formation of the Akhtar Mengal-led Commission by the federal government on directions of the Islamabad High Court (IHC). We are hopeful its report will contain important recommendations as to resolving their grievances and recovering 69+ Baloch students whose list we provided to the Commission. Ultimately, it is the court’s responsibility to pass a judgment based on these recommendations, and provide legal redress of the grievances raised by these students. There is no information till date on a student, Feroz Baloch, disappeared on 11 May 2022, Sohail and Fassieh Baloch, Arif Hambal and Siraj Noor. Baloch students are being disappeared on an almost daily basis and there is no end in sight of this practice. They are harassed within campuses, outside campuses, at checkposts. We saw how Bebagr Imdad was dragged out of the Punjab University campus by Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) officials with the assistance of the security in charge of the university. There has been no accountability for this and similar illegal actions.

Activists and those who believe in democracy should challenge these rights violations, by sticking to their principles irrespective of who is at the receiving end of state persecution and violence. We must fight to protect those we disagree with. Perhaps most importantly right now, we should resist recurring attempts to further securitize/militarize this country. With the resurgence of terrorism, instead of voluntarily ceding our civil liberties and this country’s resources further, we must fight for answers on the failed security policies imposed on us by the military establishment.

Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir

The writer is an Islamabad-based lawyer and human rights activist.

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On Tuesday, General Bajwa met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. A statement by the Pakistan military said that the “regional security situation” was discussed during the meeting. The Pentagon stated that the discussion was “focused on opportunities to address key mutual defence interests”.

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