New SC bench to hear Asghar Khan case on Feb 11

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will take up the Asghar Khan implementation case on Feb 11, ARY News reported.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Ijazul Ahsan will hear the case in Islamabad.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khan Khosa constituted the new bench to hear and decide the case.

The attorney general, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general and other parties involved in the case have been issued notices to ensure their presence in person or their counsel in the hearing.

Former air chief Marshal Asghar Khan’s family has also been summoned for the hearing.

Earlier, Jan 18, the apex court issued a detailed order in the Asghar Khan case, summoning the defence secretary to submit a progress report with regard to action take against army officers in light of the apex court’s Oct 19, 2012 verdict. “The defence secretary should inform the court about action taken against army officers.”

The court also expressed resentment over a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) report and ordered the agency to submit a reply within a week. “FIA says that the case should not be pursued further because an investigation cannot be carried out against the accused persons but we think certain elements involved in the case should be investigated.”

The SC order also stated that according to the director general FIA, the scope of the investigation is limited. It further adds that the counsel for Asghar Khan’s family lamented over the fact that some things had already been decided in the case.

The court order concluded that FIA did not conduct the investigation properly.