2:14 AM
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday directed the federal government to submit a reply regarding the sacking of Khalid Naeem Lodhi from the position of defence secretary, FTNews reported.
During a hearing of the petition filed by Lodhi challenging his dismissal, his counsel Munir Paracha said Lodhi’s sacking was illegal and mala fide.
The counsel further argued that rules and regulations were not taken into consideration in the issue.
He requested the court to declare the order of Lodhi’s removal invalid.
In the petition, Lodhi had claimed that his termination as defence secretary was illegal, and that it was intended to clear the way to arbitrarily remove the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for personal and political gains.
The petition, filed on Tuesday, cited the president, prime minister, cabinet secretaries, the establishment division and Acting Secretary Defence Nargis Sethi as respondents.
During Wednesday’s hearing, IHC’s Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan directed the federal government to submit a reply on the issue.
Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned to the second week of February.
Posted in: NATIONAL
