Former defence secretary Lt General (r) Naeem Khalid Lodhi on Tuesday filed a writ petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging his removal by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on the charges of “gross misconduct”. Lodhi was removed from the post of defence secretary by Gilani on January 10. However, Lodhi in his petition named President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani, secretaries of Cabinet, Establishment and Defence Ministry Acting Secretary Nargis Sethi respondents.
The court accepted his plea and fixed it for hearing on Wednesday (today). In his petition filed through Advocate Munir Paracha, he requested the court to set aside the notification of his removal and requested the court to restore him and also sought a stay order on the implementation of notification of his removal as a temporary relief until the final disposal of writ petition filed under article 199 of the constitution.