Justice Shahid Karim issued 5-point SOPs to prevent interference in the judiciary
\n LAHORE
\nThe Lahore High Court (LHC) has instructed the Prime Minister\u2019s Office (PMO) to issue directives to all civil and military agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), prohibiting them from contacting or approaching \u201cany judge\u201d or their staff.
\nJustice Shahid Karim issued five SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) in a written order which surfaced on Saturday, in response to a complaint lodged by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge in Sargodha.
\nThe judge alleged harassment after reportedly declining to meet officials from an intelligence agency.
\nFormer LHC Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan had taken notice of the judge\u2019s complaint, filed through the registrar, and initiated proceedings. Justice Karim assumed jurisdiction over the case after Chief Justice Khan was appointed to the Supreme Court.
\nDuring a previous hearing, Justice Karim had observed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif bore responsibility and accountability for the actions of intelligence agencies, which fell under his authority.
\nIn a written order dated June 27, the judge noted that it was \u201cimperative\u201d to proceed on certain issues that \u201cregularly come before this court\u201d and regarding which \u201cdirections are necessary to be issued in order to protect the independence of the judiciary\u201d.
\n\u201cInstructions shall go out by the Prime Minister\u2019s Office to all civil or military agencies including the Intelligence Bureau as well as Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) regarding strict directions not to approach or contact any judge whether of the superior judiciary or sub-ordinate judiciary or any member of their staff in future,\u201d he ordered subsequently. Similar directions were also issued for the Punjab police.
\nThe order further wrote \u201cLikewise, instructions shall be issued by the Inspector General of Police, Punjab to all police officers [\u2026] not to contact directly any judge of superior judiciary or the sub-ordinate judiciary regarding the merits of any pending judicial proceedings before these courts.\u201d
\nThe judge emphasized that actions concerning the security of ATCs throughout Punjab would solely be implemented \u201cwith the consultation and agreement of the respected judge of that court and not otherwise\u201d. He cautioned that the inspector general and police chief would be \u201cheld personally accountable\u201d and face contempt proceedings if they disregarded the directive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Justice Shahid Karim issued 5-point SOPs to prevent interference in the judiciary LAHORE The Lahore High Court (LHC) has instructed the Prime Minister\u2019s Office (PMO) to issue directives to all civil and military agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), prohibiting them from contacting or approaching \u201cany judge\u201d or their staff. Justice Shahid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-415380","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n