The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday instructed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to submit detailed report after consulting all stakeholders regarding FIA powers under The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.
At outset of the hearing, Deputy Attorney General Syed Tayyab Shah requested the bench to grant more time for submission of report as the department had to consult all stakeholders.
Chief Justice, Athar Minallah, remarked the cases related to defamation should be filed to district court which was a proper forum for such pleas.
He said the FIA shouldn’t get itself involved in such matters and instead it should focus on its own performance.
The chief justice remarked that the public had relevant forums for defamation cases.
It was not in the public interest that the FIA was wasting time in civil cases, the court remarked.
The chief justice observed that this court wanted to pass a comprehensive judgment on this matter.
The chief justice appreciated the FIA for consulting the stakeholders about its powers under the act.
The FIA shouldn’t take every application as it had more important national-level tasks, Justice Minallah added.
The court sought the detailed report from FIA and adjourned the case till the next date.
Fake bank accounts: An Accountability Court (AC) on Tuesday sought comments from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the acquittal plea of the accused in fake accounts reference pertaining to illegal plot allotment.
AC-III Judge Syed Aghar Ali heard the reference against Omni Group’s Abdul Ghani Majeed, Muhammad Hussain Syed, Younis Qadwai, and others. NAB prosecutor Khalid Javed and defence lawyers appeared before the court.
A co-accused Samiuddin Saddiqui filed a petition challenging the admissibility of the reference under the new law. The court sought comments from NAB and adjourned the case till November 22.
Meanwhile, the same court also sought arguments from respondents under the fresh amendment in the NAB ordinance in a case pertaining to embezzlement in funds of the Embassy of Pakistan in Bulgaria.
