Judiciary: Six Pak HC judges seek judicial intervention against ISI’s ‘interference’
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: It has been well-known for decades. Now, six judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) have sought intervention by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against alleged interference in the working of the judiciary by Pakistan’s dreaded and army-run espionage network called the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
In an unprecedented move, a March 25 letter signed by the six IHC judges also advocated adopting a stance to ensure the judiciary’s independence through the convention.
The signatories to the letter are Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Saman Rafat Imtiaz.
The SJC is the highest body authorized to take action against judges of high and supreme courts.
“We are writing to seek guidance from the Supreme Judicial Council about the duty of a judge to report and respond to actions on the part of members of the executive, including operatives of intelligence agencies, that seek to interfere with the discharge of his/ her official functions and qualify as intimidation, as well as the duty to report any such actions that come to his/her attention about colleagues and/or members of the courts that the High Court supervises,” the letter stated.
It also highlighted the interference of the executive and agencies in judicial matters, including the kidnapping and torture of the brother-in-law of a high court judge to put pressure on the judge regarding a case, the media reported on Wednesday.
“We will also note that the code of conduct for judges prescribed by SJC does not guide how judges must react to and or report incidents that are tantamount to intimidation and interfere with judicial independence,” it said.
The judges said they “believe it is imperative to inquire into and determine whether there exists a continuing policy on the part of the executive branch of the state, implemented by intelligence operatives who report to the executive branch, to intimidate judges, under threat of coercion or blackmail, to engineer judicial outcomes in politically consequential matters.”
The development came days after the top court declared the removal of former IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui illegal, directing that he may now be considered a retired judge.
The verdict noted that the SJC proceeded against Justice Siddiqui on the “assumption that the truth or falseness of the allegations leveled” by the former judge was “irrelevant”.
Siddiqui was sacked on October 11, 2018, by the SJC based on a speech he had delivered weeks ago at the Rawalpindi Bar Association in which he accused the ISI of influencing the court proceedings and forming benches of choice.
The IHC judges supported Justice Siddiqui’s request to investigate the allegations made by him.
The unprecedented letter officially highlights the alleged involvement of executive and intelligence agencies in the matters of the judiciary and seeks the support of the SJC to take action against judges and provide guidance on such matters.
