LHC suspends FIA Faisalabad SHO over failure to comply with court orders

Expressing strong displeasure over the FIA's investigation specifically the failure to comply with a court order and to produce the required WhatsApp chat records, the Lahore High Court ordered the suspension of FIA Faisalabad SHO Ajmal till further notice. 

The court also directed the Director General of the FIA to have a senior officer appear before the court at the next hearing with the relevant records. LHC Justice Amjad Rafiq issued a written order following the hearing on the bail plea of the accused, Shahid Hameed. 

According to the written order, during the previous hearing, FIA Faisalabad SHO Ajmal had informed the court that the petitioner's WhatsApp chat was on record, indicating his alleged role. 

Adjourning the hearing, the court had ordered the submission of the transcript of relevant WhatsApp conversations between the petitioner and the co-accused or the aggrieved parties, so that the petitioner's alleged role in the case could be examined. 

The court observed that the FIA SHO failed to comply with the court's directive at the subsequent hearing; instead of presenting the petitioner's WhatsApp chats, the SHO submitted a transcript of the conversation between co-accused Ahmed Shahid and the aggrieved party, Umar Inayat—an action that did not constitute compliance with the court's order. 

Justice Amjad Rafiq remarked that the FIA had failed to comply with the court's order; consequently, Ajmal, the SHO of FIA Faisalabad, is suspended until further orders. 

In its order, the court directed the Director General (DG) of the FIA to appoint a senior officer to assist the court in this case and to appear before the court with the relevant records at the next hearing. The Lahore High Court adjourned the hearing of the case until July 22 for further proceedings.