HC bars FIA from arresting Gen Faiz Hameed's brother, suspends bail cancellation

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday restrained the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from arresting Najaf Hameed, the brother of former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed, in a fraud case and suspended a decision of a special judge central that had cancelled his pre-arrest bail.

The relief was granted after Najaf Hameed approached the high court challenging the trial court’s order that revoked the bail earlier granted to him in the case. The FIA had moved an application before the special judge seeking cancellation of the pre-arrest bail, which was subsequently accepted, paving the way for his arrest.

During the hearing, counsel for Najaf argued that the trial court had initially granted pre-arrest bail after hearing detailed arguments from both sides. However, he contended that the same court later withdrew the bail without assigning any justification or recording valid reasons in the order. He maintained that the cancellation was legally unsustainable and violated the principles of due process.

After hearing the preliminary arguments, Justice Inam Ameen Minhas suspended the impugned order and barred the FIA from taking Najaf Hameed into custody until further orders. The court also issued notices to the state and other respondents, directing them to submit their replies in the matter.

The case will now be taken up for further proceedings after the submission of responses, as the high court examines the legality of the bail cancellation and the FIA’s grounds for seeking Najaf Hameed’s arrest.