ISLAMABAD, Jan 18: Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan of Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued notices on Wednesday to the president, prime minister, secretaries of cabinet and establishment divisions and the acting defence secretary on a petition filed by the sacked defence secretary, Lt-Gen (retd) Khalid Naeem Lodhi, seeking his reinstatement.

The court admitted the petition and sought replies from the respondents. The hearing was adjourned till the second week of February.

Although the petitioner sought a temporary relief and suspension of the notification of his termination, the court did not issue a restraining order. The judge said an appropriate order in this regard might be passed on the next date of hearing after the other side presented its point of view.

F.K. Butt, the counsel of the petitioner, submitted that his client had been appointed defence secretary on Nov 28 for two years but his service was terminated on Jan 11 on charges of gross misconduct. Prior to the termination, neither a charge-sheet nor a show-cause notice had been issued to him and he came to know about it through the media.

He said the sudden termination had also adversely affected his client’s reputation.

The lawyer said his client had refused to sign a prepared affidavit for submission to the Supreme Court in the memo case.

He alleged that the government wanted to remove Chief of Army Staff (CAOS) Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Ahmed Shuja Pasha for their stance on the memo issue and the termination of his client was the first step in that direction.

Gen Kayani, in his reply submitted to the Supreme Court, acknowledged the existence of the memo and said the ISI chief had briefed him about it on Oct 24.

According to Advocate Butt, the government had pressurised Gen Lodhi to sign the affidavit it submitted in the Supreme Court terming the memo a pack of lies and just a piece of paper that could not jeopardise national security.

He requested the court to set aside the termination order and suspend it till the decision on the petition and enable his client to resume his duty.

The petition said the replies of Gen Kayani and the ISI chief had been submitted to the court through Attorney General Molvi Anwarul Haq.

It said that in common practice government departments and authorities submitted their replies directly to courts without the consent of the law ministry and their ministers.

It alleged that the respondents could not digest a rejoinder issued by ISPR on Dec 11 in response to an interview given by the prime minister to the People’s Daily Online of China after which they lost no time in terminating the service contract of the defence secretary.

The petition said the termination was in violation of fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 4, 14 and 25 of the Constitution.