ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief Justice (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa regretted on Monday that the Supreme Court’s name was exploited to begin an action against YouTuber Asad Toor, citing anomalies in the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) First Information Report (FIR).
“The inquiry notice [sent to Asad Toor] stated that he is being summoned in an inquiry related to an anti-judiciary campaign whereas the FIR didn’t even mention as such,” Isa, the court’s chief justice, said.
The top judge’s remarks came during a hearing of a suo motu case, which was heard by a three-member SC bench comprising the CJP, Justice Muhammed Ali Mazhar, and Justice Mussarat Hilali, pertaining to the harassment of journalists over FIA summons as part of the Joint Investigation Team’s (JIT) probe into the anti-judiciary campaign.
It is worth noting that on January 17, the then-caretaker administration created a JIT to investigate the facts surrounding a vicious social media campaign against SC judges following the Supreme Court’s decision on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) election emblem.
However, the court took notice of the FIA’s summons, which was delivered to several journalists, and forbade the agency from taking action against those who criticised the Supreme Court.
On February 26, the FIA detained Toor in connection with the smear campaign against the SC and the CJP, and the journalist is currently in their custody.
