IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN
(Appellate Jurisdiction)
Bench:
Mr. Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan
Mr. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail
Mr. Justice Shahid Waheed
Crl. Petition No. 225 of 2023
(Against the judgment of the Islamabad High Court, Islamabad dated
14.02.2023 passed in Crl. Revision No. 07 of 2023)
Ammad Yousaf
...….Petitioner(s)
Versus
The State and another
….Respondent(s)
For the Petitioner(s):
Sardar M. Latif Khan Khosa, Sr. ASC
Syed Iqbal Hussain Gillani, ASC
Ms. Suzain Jehan Khan, AHC
For the State:
Raja Rizwan Abbasi, Special Prosecutor
Islamabad
Mr. Ayyaz Shaukat, AG Islamabad
M. Ghouse, SI
Khalid Awan, SP
Date of hearing:
14.09.2023
JUDGMENT
Jamal Khan Mandokhail, J.- Facts of the case are that a
Pakistani news channel, ARY News, telecasted a live program on
08.08.2022, wherein one Shahbaz Gill was a guest, who in
response to a question expressed his views. The Magistrate 1st
Class (City), Islamabad (“Executive Magistrate”) considered that
the alleged views on national television against the armed forces
constituted
serious
cognizable
offences.
Consequently,
the
Magistrate sought permission from the Deputy Commissioner,
Islamabad Capital Territory (“DC, ICT”) vide application dated
08.08.2022 to register an FIR against Shahbaz Gill. The DC, ICT
sought guidance from the Chief Commissioner, ICT, who through a
letter dated 09.08.2022, obtained permission from the Secretary,