Pak court criticises Army over its failure to submit report on last year's protest

The Army did not establish Pakistan so it will not be ruled on the whims and wishes of anyone, the country's Supreme Court said today as it censured security agencies for their failure to submit a detailed report on a protest led by a hardline cleric last year that paralysed the capital, Islamabad.

Two-member bench comprising Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Musheer Alam heard the suo motu case against the three-week long siege of the capital in November, 2017 by religious groups against so-called changes in the oath by parliamentarians.

Justice Isa used strong words to castigate a representative of the ministry of defence and deputy attorney general when he was informed that security agencies had not prepared any fresh report about the protest.

The judge said that since the previous report was rejected as unsatisfactory, it was the duty of intelligence agencies to come up with the new report, detailing who funded the protest.

"Who is paying you? Who is paying the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)? No one should consider themselves above the law," the judge said, addressing an army officer and deputy attorney general who present for hearing.

He said Pakistan was established through the efforts of a political leader (Jinnah) who was not surrounded by any army brigade.

The army did not establish this country and the state will not be ruled on the whims and wishes of anyone, he said further.

Last month the court had thrown out a report by ISI by passing highly critical remarks.

This report is deeply unsettling: it has been prepared by one of the premier agencies of the country, yet a journalist could have given more details [about the protests] than this report," Justice Isa had said.

Separately, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) also criticised the military while hearing a petition demanding to make an inquiry report about the protest public.

No army in the world is involved in commercial activities but our's is selling even cement, meat and bread, he said referring towards alleged commercial activities of armed forces.

He said that the court will summon the defence secretary over the issue.