Judges\u2019 letter
\n Islamabad
\nThe Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) on Thursday filed a petition in the Supreme Court (SC) to probe the allegations made by six IHC judges against interference in judicial affairs by the country\u2019s intelligence apparatus.
\nOn March 25, six IHC judges \u2014 out of a total strength of eight \u2014 wrote a startling letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) members, regarding attempts to pressure judges through abduction and torture of their relatives as well as secret surveillance inside their homes.
\nThe letter was signed by judges Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Saman Rafat Imtiaz.
\nA day later, calls had emerged from various quarters for a probe into the investigation, amid which Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa summoned a full court meeting of the Supreme Court\u2019s judges.
\nAfter a meeting between CJP Isa and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on March 28, the duo decided to form a commission to investigate the concerns of interference in judicial affairs following the cabinet\u2019s approval. However, former CJP Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, who was appointed to head the commission, subsequently recused himself from the matter, leading to the apex court taking a suo motu notice of the issue.
\nOn April 3, CJP Isa asserted that \u201cany attack\u201d on the judiciary\u2019s independence would not be tolerated as he hinted at forming a full court to hear a suo motu case pertaining to allegations of interference in judicial affairs. In a petition filed today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the IHCBA called for a probe into the letter.
\nIt recommended that upon completion of such a probe, the apex court \u201cpass appropriate orders to affix liability for those who undermined independence of judiciary by resort to all manner of interference in the judicial work of the judges concerned.\u201d
\nThe petition also called upon the top court to delineate any matters from the IHC letter which fell within the SJC\u2019s exclusive jurisdiction and \u201cif deemed appropriate, make recommendations for due consideration of such matters by the SJC\u201d.
\nThe association urged the court to not restrict itself to the issues raised in the letter but also guide the way forward to eliminate the \u201cpossibility of vertical interference and collateral interference\u201d. It added that the petition be attached to the suo motu case to \u201cserve the ends of justice\u201d.
\nThe IHCBA asserted itself as \u201cthe primary stakeholder\u201d in the matter of the IHC judges\u2019 letter and expressed its commitment to the \u201cexemplary interface between the bar and the bench with the underlying purpose of sustaining efficient and effective administration of justice\u201d.
\nThe association highlighted that there was \u201cno room for any kind of interference (overt or covert) in the discharge of judicial functions by any court of law by any external element, including but not limited to the executive branch of the state and\/or by any and\/or all of its instrumentalities and\/or agencies.
\n\u201cIntimidation or harassment of a judge of a high court, or a judge of the court subordinate to it, or those discharging quasi-judicial functions\/responsibilities at a tribunal established by law is not fair game. It is an affront to constitutionalism and a brazen attack on the independence of the judiciary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contents of letter by IHC judges
\nDated March 25, the letter in question was signed by IHC Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Saman Rafat Imtiaz.
\nIt mentioned seven instances of alleged interference and intimidation \u201cto influence the outcome of cases of interest\u201d by the intelligence officials, pointing out that when two out of three judges in the bench hearing the plea to disqualify PTI leader Imran Khan for concealing his alleged daughter opined that the case was not maintainable, they were pressured by \u201coperatives of the ISI\u201d through friends and relatives.
\nThe situation got so stressful that one of the judges had to be admitted to hospital due to high blood pressure, the letter said.
\nAccording to the six judges, the matter was brought to the notice of the IHC chief justice and the then-CJP. The former informed the judges that he had \u201cspoken to the DG-C of ISI and had been assured that no official from ISI will approach the judges of the IHC\u201d.
\nThe letter complained that \u201cinterference on the part of intelligence operatives\u201d continued even after IHC CJ\u2019s assurance.
\nIt also referred to the abduction of an IHC judge\u2019s brother-in-law by armed men who \u201cclaimed to be ISI operatives\u201d. The victim was \u201cadministered electric shocks\u201d and \u201cforced to record a video\u201d making false allegations, apparently against the judge.
\n\u201cSubsequently, a complaint was filed against the judge of IHC before the SJC, accompanied by an orchestrated media campaign to bring pressure to bear upon the judge to resign.\u201d
\nThe letter revealed that in May 2023, an IHC inspection judge reported to the chief justice that district court judges were being intimidated and crackers were thrown into the house of one additional district and sessions judge.
\nThe judge was even called to the IHC to verify the claims which he confirmed. But instead of probing the allegations, the judge \u201cwas made officer on special duty and transferred to IHC, before being sent back to Punjab as he was a judicial officer on deputation\u201d.
\nThe letter said that last year, during routine maintenance, an IHC judge found that his official residence had been bugged with spy cameras concealed in his drawing room and bedroom.
\nWhen data from surve\u00adillance equipment was rec\u00adovered, it showed that \u201cpr\u00adi\u00advate videos of the judge and his family members\u201d were stored. \u201cThe matter was brought to the attention of the IHC chief justice. There has been no determination of who installed the equipment and who is to be held accountable,\u201d the letter added.
\nAlong with their letter to the SJC, the six judges also attached copies of letters written to Justice Farooq on May 10, 2023 and Feb 12, 2024.
\nThe letters mentioned, among other complaints, efforts of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) personnel to pressurise IHC judges and probe into the tax records of at least one judge \u201cto seek a certain outcome\u201d.
\nThey added that it was imperative to determine whether there was a \u201cpolicy on the part of the executive \u2026 implemented by intelligence operatives\u201d to intimidate judges.
\n\u201c[The] allegations of interference by operatives of ISI have been dealt with and relief has been granted to a former judge of IHC who was wronged. We believe that while such action was necessary, it may not be sufficient,\u201d the letter said about Justice Siddiqui\u2019s case.
\nThe judges noted that the SJC\u2019s code of conduct for judges did not outline the response to such incidents \u201cthat are tantamount to intimidation and interfere with judicial independence\u201d.
\nThey called for a judicial convention to discuss the interference of intelligence officials \u201cthat undermines independence of the judiciary\u201d.
\nThe consultation would help the Supreme Court to determine a course of action that judges could take \u201cwhen they find themselves at the receiving end\u201d, the letter said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Judges\u2019 letter Islamabad The Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) on Thursday filed a petition in the Supreme Court (SC) to probe the allegations made by six IHC judges against interference in judicial affairs by the country\u2019s intelligence apparatus. On March 25, six IHC judges \u2014 out of a total strength of eight \u2014 wrote […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-401008","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n