F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: A full court meeting of the Supreme Court judges was held in the federal capital to deliberate on a letter written by the six Islamabad High Court judges about the alleged interference of spy agencies in the judiciary, sources told media on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court judges including Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa attended the huddle that lasted for over two hours in the federal capital. The development took place after the bar associations and legal experts called for a probe into the letter.
The sources said that the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan met the CJP and discussed the matter. After the meeting, AGP, while talking to journalists, said that the matter is serious and it should be probed. Bar associations of Sindh, Lahore, Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as senior lawyers condemned the alleged interference, urging the top judge to look into the matter.
The letter, written a day earlier on Tuesday, urged the council to convene a judicial convention over the alleged interference of members of the executive, including operatives of intelligence agencies, in judicial affairs. The IHC judges — who wrote the letter to the SJC — include Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Fafat Imtiaz.
Seeking guidance from the council on “interference” of the spy agencies in courts’ affairs, the judges wrote: “We are writing to seek guidance from the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) with regard to the duty of a judge to report and respond to actions on part of members of the executive, including operatives of intelligence agencies, that seek to interfere with 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 in relation to colleagues and/or members of the courts that the High Court supervises.” 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 as a retired judge.
The IHC judges, in their letter, noted that the code of conduct for judges prescribed by SJC provides no guidance on how they “must react to and or report incidents that are tantamount to intimidation and interfere with judicial independence”. The judges further said that 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” to meddle in judicial affairs.
Bar associations call meetings to assess judges’ plaint about interference: The Islamabad and Lahore high court bar associations on Wednesday called emergent meetings a day after some judges of the Islamabad High Court wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) alleging ‘interference’ in cases.
The Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) president and secretary called a meeting and asked all members to participate. The association will come up with a strategy to address the concerns of the judges. The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), in response to the Islamabad judges’ letter to the SJC, also called a meeting and lauded the judges. Bar president Asad Manzoor said the lawyers stood by the judges.
Six judges of the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) pointing out “interference” in the judicial affairs. The letter highlights the “interference of executive and agencies” in the judicial matters, demanding initiation of a judicial convention against brazen interference in the judicial affairs.
It also advocates for adopting a stance to ensure the judiciary’s independence through the convention. Furthermore, the judges have urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and the IHC chief justice to take action against those involved in interference. The letter was written by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz.
