Slain ISI man’s son seeks case against TV anchor | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Slain ISI man’s son seeks case against TV anchor

By Mudassir Raja

RAWALPINDI: The son of Khalid Khawaja, a former ISI official, has urged the Lahore High Court to order registration of a criminal case against an anchor of a private television channel for the murder of his father.

Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik, of the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench, on Friday took up the petition of Usama Khalid and directed the law officer representing the federal government to appear in court on July 12.

The petitioner challenged the June 12 order of an additional district and sessions judge rejecting his plea to register the murder case.

Khalid Usama has made the SHO and a sub-inspector of Islamabad’s Shalimar police station respondents in the petition filed with the Lahore High Court, contending that the district and sessions judge dismissed his petition after the Shalimar police had told him they lacked jurisdiction as the murder of Khalid Khawaja was not committed in their area.

Mr Usama said the conspiracy to kill his father was hatched within the jurisdiction of Shalimar police and the travel of his father to the tribal area was allegedly arranged by journalist Hamid Mir.

The petitioner also attached a copy of an application submitted by him to Shalimar police for registration of a case against the journalist and Usman Punjabi for plotting the murder of Khalid Khawaja.

Usama Khalid said Hamid Mir had developed “ideological differences” with his father after the Lal Masjid operation of July 2007.

According to the petitioner, the television anchor and his father were on good terms since long, but Hamid Mir betrayed the trust by laying a trap for Khalid Khawaja. Usama alleged it was Mr Mir who persuaded the former ISI official to travel to the tribal area, where the journalist directed Usman Punjabi to kill Mr Khawaja.

An audio-tape, which emerged a few days after the murder of Khalid Khawaja, contained a purported conversation between Mr Mir and a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan operative. Mr Mir has denied the veracity of the tape and said the voice on it was not his.
Source: Dawn
Date:7/3/2010