Pakistani court rejects petition against ISI

In a reprieve for the ISI, a Pakistani court today dismissed a petition that had challenged the promotion policy for civilian employees of the spy agency.
Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Anwar Khan Kasi declared the petition non-maintainable, saying the issue did not fall under his jurisdiction.
The judge directed the 34 civilian officers of the Inter- Services Intelligence agency who filed the petition to approach the Federal Services Tribunal (FST).
In the petition filed in June last year, the civilian officers complained that the process for their promotion was "discriminatory and slow" and sought the court's intervention.
The petitioners' lawyer, Rehan Khan, argued that civilian officers of the ISI had been waiting for their promotion for 23 years. He asked the court to direct authorities to promote them in their respective scales.

However, ISI counsel Khurram Hashmi contested these arguments and said the petitioners were civil servants and should approach the FST, which is the right forum to hear such cases, Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Hashmi submitted a notification in a sealed envelope that detailed the reasons for which the services of these civilian officers were acquired by the ISI.
On September 17, the court had issued a notice to the ISI chief in response to a contempt application filed by one of the civilian officers.
During a recent hearing of the case, the court had put the ISI in a tight spot by rejecting its argument that its service structure is confidential.