The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday declared the dismissal of former director general of National Logistic Cell (NLC) Major General (r) Khalid Zahir from army as ‘unlawful’.
The LHC’s Rawalpindi bench, headed by Justice Ibadur Rehman Lodhi, announced its verdict on a petition filed by the former director general of the NLC. However, the detailed judgement of the case is yet to be released by the court.
Zahir had been dismissed in 2011 by the military through administrative action for his alleged involvement in the NLC scam.
Earlier on Thursday, Zahir’s counsel, Wasif Niazi told reporters that his client retired in February 2008 but was recalled in 2011 for his involvement in the NLC scam and was dismissed through administrative action.
Niazi said that under the Army Act, Zahir should have been arrested, tried and punished by a military court. He said that it was legal to recall Zahir after his retirement but his client’s dismissal through administrative action was not allowed under military law. Niazi further said that his client had pleaded not guilty in the NLC scam.
The Public Accounts Committee had highlighted the NLC financial scam in 2008 while Zahir was dismissed from the army in August 2015.
The military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), had claimed in August that two accused retired army generals were punished under the Pakistan Army Act after a military probe into the Rs4.3 billion NLC scam.
“Maj Gen (r) Khalid Zahir Akhter had been dismissed from service, which implies; forfeiture of rank, decorations, medals, honours, awards, seizure of pension, recovery of personal gains, cancellation of service benefits and all other allied facilities,” the ISPR said.
