Pakistan court seeks details of ISI's service structure

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency has been asked by a court to give details of its service structure so that the fate of a petition filed by 34 civilian inspectors can be decided, according to a media report today.
The petition was filed in June and the inspectors complained the process for their promotion was discriminatory and slow.
Neither the petitioners' counsel, Rehanuddin Khan Golra, nor ISI counsel Khurram Hashmi was clear about the status of the inspectors, the Dawn reported.
They were uncertain whether the inspectors were subject to the Civil Servant Rules of 1973 or Pakistan Army Act of 1952.

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi directed the ISI counsel to submit details of the statute by which ISI is functioning and recruiting people.
The judge gave the counsel a week to provide the details and adjourned the case till October 3.

In a reply submitted to the court yesterday, the ISI said it was complying with the court's orders and had not committed any disobedience. It said the inspectors had filed their petition with "complete disregard for the valuable time of this court".
The inspectors were harassing the respondent, the ISI , chief, with "frivolous litigation", the spy agency contended.

The ISI said the promotion of the inspectors was a matter related to the service of employees and the Federal Services Tribunal is the competent forum for settling such matters.
The ISI counsel requested the judge to transfer the case to another court. He also opposed any briefing on the ISI's service structure, claiming it was a confidential matter.
However, the court observed that the grievances of the inspectors could not be overlooked for the sake of confidentiality.