Mohsin Baig case: 'Govt not going to file reference against judge'

ISLAMABAD: The Attorney General of Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan has said that the federal government is not going to send a reference against the judge who gave the ruling in Mohsin Baig case, ARY News reported on Friday.

Khalid Jawed Khan, while talking to ARY News today, said that the federal government will not file a reference against the conduct of the additional sessions judge Zafar Iqbal in the Mohsin Baig case.

He clarified that an appeal could be filed against the verdict of the additional sessions judge who had declared the raid of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to arrest Mohsin Baig ‘illegal’.

Khan said that it is the right of the state to appeal against the judge’s verdict.

The advocate general replied to a question regarding the previous decision of filing a reference against the judge, saying that the Advocate General of Islamabad misunderstood the considerations.

Yesterday, the federal government had decided to send a reference against the additional sessions judge for declaring the raid of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) ‘illegal’ for arresting Mohsin Baig.

Advocate General Islamabad Niazullah Niazi had met Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday in which he apprised the premier that the additional sessions judge gave the verdict in Mohsin Baig case in haste without fulfilling the legal requirements.

READ: PETITION IN IHC CHALLENGES ‘ILLEGAL DETENTION’ OF MOHSIN BAIG

After the meeting, Niazullah Niazi had announced that a reference will be filed against the judge soon. He had said that Mohsin Baig had pointed gun at FIA and police officials besides threatening the on-duty officers. “Becoming a media person would not allow anyone to take the law into own hands,” said the advocate general Islamabad.

Mohsin Baig’s arrest

A district and sessions court in Islamabad had declared the raid on the house of journalist Mohsin Baig illegal on Wednesday.

The FIA arrested Mohsin Baig on the complaint of the government against a discussion during a television channel’s show involving the premier.

Mohsin Baiq is blamed for initiating a debate on a television show with obscene references towards Prime Minister Imran Khan and a federal minister.

The government after the program launched a complaint with the FIA that acted promptly and arrested Baig for his primary role in the entire debate.