Pakistan Court Orders FIR Registration Against 2 Former CIA Officials

A Pakistani court yesterday dismissed a plea by the police and ordered them to register an FIR against two former CIA officials, including the ex-station chief, for their alleged role in a surgical drone strike that killed the family members of an anti-drone activist in 2009.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered after hearing a petition by Karim Khan whose relatives, including his son Zahinullah and brother Asif Iqbal, and other civilians were killed in the drone attack on December 31, 2009.

Mr Khan had earlier filed an application in the IHC in 2010, seeking registration of an FIR against former CIA station chief Jonathan Banks.

During the in-camera hearing, the court ordered Inspector General (IG) Islamabad Tahir Alam Khan to register case against Banks and former CIA general counsel John Rizzo for their alleged role in the attack.

Mr Khan said that registration of case would strain ties with the US, Dawn reported.

He also said the Foreign Office was also a party in the matter and it was important to know its stance.

But the court rejected the argument and asked Mr Khan to register the FIR with Islamabad's Secretariat Police Station and submit a report to the court within two days.

The police station had earlier refused the request to register the FIR.

A previous court order, on June 6, 2014, to register a FIR against the former station chief was not complied with.

In October 2014, a high court bench summoned the Secretariat police station house officer (SHO) for not registering a case against Banks.