February 19th, 2022
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
The federal government has deferred the filing of a complaint against a judge who ordered that a police raid on media owner Mohsin Baig was illegal, according to a news report.
The judge declared the raid on Mr Baig’s house “illegal” and asked Islamabad’s inspector general of police to take action against the station house officer of Margalla police station, adding that an FIR should be lodged if any application was submitted by a family member of Mr Baig, Dawn reported.
The paper quoted a senior government official as saying that filing of a complaint against the additional district and sessions judge for a biased judgment had been deferred. According to the official, the government would prefer to see the outcome of those proceedings in the Islamabad High Court and the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) relating to cases against Baig.
Islamabad bar backs judge
In a statement on February 18, the Islamabad Bar Association called on the authorities to refrain from taking action against the judge. The bar stated that the judge had issued the order in accordance with the law. “Is the judge supposed to pass orders according to the whims of the government?,” the bar said.
IHC orders probe over torture allegations
The IHC has also ordered the deputy commissioner of Islamabad to probe allegations of torture of Baig on a petition by his wife against registered by the Federal Investigation Agency and Margalla police station under sections of the cybercrime law and anti-terrorism act.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Athar Minallah directed the inspector general of Islamabad to submit a separate report on the torture allegations.
New FIA case registered in Karachi
In another development, FIA officials in Karachi registered a case against Baig for interference and bribery in a money-laundering investigation.
The First Information Report (FIR) number 01/2022 has been registered against journalist Mohsin Baig, a private person Aliullah Achakzai, Gulzar Qamar, an official of FIA, Islamabad, and Ahmad Khan Mirani, a former Sub-Inspector of FIA Karachi, The News reported.
The FIA has accused Baig of giving threats and offering bribes to officials investigating two cases of smuggling and money laundering lodged against a businessman Abdul Wasay.
Legal panel named
Baig’s family also named a four-member panel of lawyers to represent him in the FIA and ATC cases. In an advertisement published in a local paper, the family named Latif Khosa, Sardar Abdul Razaq, Hafiz Abdul Rafay, and Raheel Azam Niazi as his counsels. The announcement clarified that no other lawyers are representing Baig except those on the legal panel.