Hamid Mir, the famous TV journalist, has been booked for alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a top official of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. The police gave this information on Sunday. On the other hand, Mir said in his defense that he has already been declared innocent in this matter, but he is being targeted for standing up in the media.
The popular news anchor had survived an attempt on his life in 2014 when gunmen shot him three times. He is the leading terrorism expert and security analyst on Geo TV. The seasoned journalist faces threats from multiple quarters including the Taliban.
Imam, British journalist Asad Qureshi and Qureshi’s driver Rustam Khan were also kidnapped with Khawaja. In September 2010, Qureshi and Khan were released, while Col Imam was killed execution-style in January 2011. A few days ago, the judge had passed the order, but the police said it took them time to register the case because they didn’t have an attested copy of the court order.
Hamid Mir has been booked under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code which carries a seven-year jail-term.
The terrorists had killed Khwaja and Imam and left Qureshi and Khan. Khwaja’s family, a retired officer of the Pakistan Air Force, had accused Mir of kidnapping. Islamabad High Court’s judge Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had ordered to file a case last week. Finally, the case was registered against Hamid Mir on Saturday.
According to Ms. Malik, Hamid Mir and Usman Punjabi with the help of their “hooligans” had kidnapped her husband Khalid Khawaja. She had lodged the FIR at the Ramna police station of the capital.
Upon contact with Hamid Mir, he acknowledged that the matter seemed to be a politically-motivated case aimed at blackmailing him. According to him, the court did not allowed him an opportunity to present his viewpoint.
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