ISLAMABAD - An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) has filed an intra-court appeal (ICA) in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking court directives for a probe by the ISI chief against some IB officials allegedly involved in protecting terrorists having links with hostile intelligence agencies.
Earlier, IHC single bench headed by Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui disposed of the petition of ASI Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Shahzad with directives for the interior secretary to probe the matter and submit a report before the court.
Shahzad has moved the ICA contending that the Prime Minister’s House controls the affairs of the IB and the interior secretary has no domain to conduct the inquiry. He has requested the court to modify the single bench verdict and direct the ISI director general to investigate the issue instead of the secretary interior.
IHC division bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb will take up the ICA on Monday (today).
Justice Siddiqui had also directed to take immediate measures for the protection of country’s interests. After issuing the directives, the judge had disposed of the petition.
The petitioner had made some startling revelations about the nexus of several IB officers and subordinate staff with anti-state intelligence agencies. The petitioner had leveled very serious allegations against some IB officials including their travel to Israel.
The ASI had made the prime minister, the Federation of Pakistan through the secretary to the prime minister, the Director General (DG) IB and DG Inter-services Intelligence as respondents in the petition.
The petitioner has made some startling revelations about the alleged nexus of several IB officers and subordinate staff with the anti-state intelligence agencies. Mukhtar had stated in his petition that in 2007 when he joined his duty he started gathering sensitive information concerning national security. In this connection, the petitioner reported against various terrorist groups having roots in Uzbekistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and India, but to the petitioner’s dismay, the IB took no action against such groups despite proofs provided by him.
He said that upon thorough intelligence gathering, it transpired that certain high officials of the IB were directly in contact with terrorist organizations having links with the hostile intelligence agencies.
“The sensitive information regarding the compromise of national security was also conveyed to the prime minister through a registered post. However, the prime minister preferred to indulge himself in other trivial affairs rather than matters of grave national importance,” the petition had said. According to the petitioner, it was revealed that some Pakistani IB officials have travel record on different passports proving their travel to Israel and were found to be directly linked with the Afghanistan intelligence agency.
The petitioner had contended that these terrorists used to disguise themselves as Kinno (citrus) dealers in Kot-Momin and Bhalwal, Sargodha. The business was a mere camouflage. The petitioner was quite vigilant in probing that one Arslan Ahmad Shah Bokhari, the son of IB Joint Director Punjab Khursheed Alam Shah Bukhari, was involved in dealing with the said terrorist groups, which were apparently running Shah Taj Kinnow Factory in Sargodha. According to the petitioner, some Afghan intelligence agency and Iranian intelligence officers and agents also used to hide and seek refuge as Kinno dealers in Kot-Momin and Bhalwal, Sargodha.
Mukhtar said that he consistently reported on sectarian issues in the line of duty, which was going on with the support of sectarian organizations and Iran.
The petitioner contended that the petitioner flagged the names and complete addresses of militants including their handler, facilitators who were planning to go to Iran for military training and of these trained militants a few participated in Syria war and got rewarded from Iran in the shape of cash amounting to Rs1400,000, and Rs 330,000 to Rs. 500,000 through ATM of Bank Al-Ansar, Iran for first one month during training and about Rs120,000 to the family of the deceased and the returned militants respectively.
The petitioner had also pointed out activities of Iran returned militants who were involved in sectarian terrorism and anti-state activities.