Faiz Hameed denies influencing judiciary to remove Shaukat Siddiqui

ISLAMABAD: Former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director-general Lt-Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed has filed a reply in the Supreme Court (SC), denying the charges of former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui that he had influenced the judiciary to remove him from service.

In his reply submitted to the apex court, Faiz Hameed said that Shaukat Siddiqui did not mention any explicit meeting with him in his speech or before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which had recommended his removal.

He also said that he never contacted Shaukat Siddiqui and did not discuss Nawaz Sharif’s appeals with him.

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He further said that he never said that their two-year hard work would be wasted and that all the allegations of Shaukat Siddiqui were baseless and fabricated.

He added that Shaukat Siddiqui’s allegations were nothing but afterthoughts.

A five-member larger bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, will hear the case tomorrow and Faiz Hamid will be represented by lawyer Khawaja Haris.

Meanwhile, former IHC chief justice Anwar Kasi and Brigadier (retd) Irfan Ramay have also submitted their replies in the Supreme Court, rejecting the allegations of Shaukat Siddiqui.

Shaukat Siddiqui had claimed that Irfan Ramay had visited his house with Faiz Hamid. He had also accused Anwar Kasi of not hearing his complaint.

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The Supreme Court earlier issued notices to Faiz Hameed and others on Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s petition challenging his removal.

A five-member bench led by CJP Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan is conducting proceedings on the plea.

Earlier, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s lawyer Hamid Khan read out a transcript of his client’s speech in the SC in which he alleged that he was approached by Faiz Hameed and an ISI brigadier to deliver a verdict in their favour, and that he was offered to be made the chief justice if he complied.

The chief justice had rebuked Khan for accusing someone without making them a party and said that they should be given a chance to present their position.

Siddiqui was removed from his office by the SJC on the charges of misconduct after he made a controversial speech at the Rawalpindi Bar Association in 2018, accusing the ISI of interfering in judicial matters. He has challenged his dismissal in the Supreme Court, seeking a fair trial and an open inquiry.