ISLAMABAD: A petition was filed on Tuesday against controversial remarks recently made by Jamaat-i-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan in the Islamabad High Court, DawnNews reported.

The petition, filed by Advocate Shahid Orakzai, stated that Hasan had ridiculed the country’s armed forces, adding that the JI chief should immediately be suspended from his position.

Hasan’s controversial statements giving the certificate of martyrdom to Hakeemullah Mehsud, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader killed in a US drone attack, and deriding military personnel who have rendered sacrifices in the war against terrorists, had drawn strong ire of the army which had asked him to tender an unconditional apology.

The JI chief has however chosen to stand by his remarks with his party’s backing which on Monday said that the army’s reaction to Hasan’s statement was a direct intervention in the country’s politics.

Also today, JI’s General Secretary Liaquat Baloch said every political party had the right to express its view point and this was what the JI had done too. He further said that if the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had any objections regarding Hasan’s ‘martyr’ remarks, it should have contacted the Defence Ministry.