Claim:
● Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was summoned by the Supreme Court of Pakistan because the government is negotiating a cease-fire with the terrorist organization Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
● The Chief Justice of Pakistan “sternly question[ed] the sitting PM on his actions regarding the TTP.”
Fact:
● The prime minister was not called to the Supreme Court because his government is negotiating with the TTP. He was summoned after the Attorney General (AG) informed the court that he had not shown the last order passed by the Supreme Court in connection to the 2014 Army Public School massacre to the prime minister.
● Among the three-member bench, only Justice Qazi Amin grilled the government about its negotiations with the TTP.
DBTV uploaded a video on 12 November 2021 with the headline “80,000 Lives Lost, TTP Is Still Getting Citizenship? | Breaking News | November 11.”The description of the video claimed that, “As the government brings TTP to the negotiating table, the supreme court gets into action.”The presenter in the video also said, “Why was he summoned-because of negotiations with TTP.”
On 10 November 2021, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan that included Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Qazi Amin Ahmed heard a human rights case relating to the 2014 Army Public School massacre in Peshawar.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed asked Attorney General (AG) Khalid Javed Khan if he had shown the last order passed by the Supreme Court in this matter to the prime minister. The AG replied in the negative, following which the chief justice summoned the prime minister.
The order passed by the Supreme Court on 20 October 2021 concerned a complaint filed by the mothers of the deceased children of APS. The complaint states that those occupying high office at the time of the tragedy have not been taken to task or held responsible for the alleged negligence of duty that failed to prevent the massacre. In its order dated 20 October, the Court instructed the AG to receive instruction from the government and make a statement before the Court.
The individuals in high posts mentioned in the Supreme Court order were former Army Chief General retired Raheel Sharif, former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, former Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Corps Commander Peshawar Hidayatur Rehman, ISI Chief Zaheerul Islam, and Secretary Interior Akhtar Ali Shah.
Speaking with Soch Fact Check, senior Supreme Court journalist Mian Aqeel Afzal of Express Group, who was present during the 10 November hearing, said the prime minister was called after AG Khan admitted in court that he had not shown the last order to Khan. Afzal said, “The last order instructed the Attorney General to get an opinion from the Federal Government on the matter since there were big names in the order, no one other than the Prime Minister could make the decision on it. When the AG said he did not show the order, the court said “call him (Prime Minister) we will talk to him directly.”
Soch Fact Check also talked to Senior Supreme Court Journalist Matiullah Jan about the matter. Jan was also in the courtroom during the proceedings. He said, “The Chief Justice asked the Attorney General if he had himself shown the last order to the Prime Minister. AG replied that he did not meet him in person. However, the Prime Minister might have received it through other sources. After this exchange, the PM was summoned to the court.”
After being summoned, the prime minister was indeed grilled by the Court on his policy regarding negotiating with the TTP. However, it was not the Chief Justice who confronted Imran Khan. Afzal clarified, “It was only Justice Qazi Amin Ahmed who gave these remarks, not the other judges.”
Soch Supreme Court Correspondent Hassan Abbas was also present during the proceedings. He also corroborated the accounts provided by Afzal and Jan.
Conclusion:
The headline, description, and claims in the video are false and misleading. The prime minister of Pakistan was not summoned to the Supreme Court because of the government’s ongoing negotiations with TTP. It was only Justice Qazi Amin Ahmed who confronted Khan about negotiations with the TTP, after the prime minister was summoned in connection to an order relating to the 2014 APS massacre.