The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a constitutional petition filed by former Inter Services Intelligence chief Gen (r) Hameed Gul asking the court to order an inquiry into an attack by US-led forces in Afghanistan in the Shawal area in North Waziristan Agency.The petition, filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, also asked the court to order the government to give compensation to the family of the Pakistani soldier killed in the incident, and to halt military operations “against the people of the tribal areas”. However, a five-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi and Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, unanimously dismissed the petition on the grounds that the tribal areas do not come under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The bench also objected that Gen Gul had no locus standi to file the petition, as he is not a resident of the tribal areas.
Advocate Muhammad Ikram Chaudhry, Gen GulÂ’s lawyer, told reporters after the hearing that former MNA from FATA Haroon Rashid would now move a similar petition on behalf of the people of the tribal areas. The counsel in his preliminary arguments submitted that the people of FATA were citizens of Pakistan and it was the governmentÂ’s responsibility to protect their lives and property.
| Ah, there was the trap the court avoided. If the people of FATA are citizens of Pakistan, it means the government is responsible for a lot of stuff that happens there. |