CJP takes suo moto notice of IHC judges' letter

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Monday took suo moto notice of Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges’ allegations of interference by intelligence agencies, ARY News reported. 

Six serving judges of Islamabad High Court (IHC) penned a letter to Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), urging it to summon a judicial convention to review the matter of “interference of intelligence agencies with judicial functions”.

IHC top judges – including Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Baqir Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Salman Rafat Imtiaz – penned the letter to SJC in the aftermath of Supreme Court’s March 22 judgement on Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s dismissal case.

In the letter, the top judges sought 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”.

A seven-member larger bench headed by the CJP will take up the case on Wednesday.

Read more: IHC judges’ letter: Tassaduq Hussain Jillani to head probe commission

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan will be the members of the larger bench.

The hearing will take place at 11-30am on Wednesday.

Earlier, over 300 lawyers, belonging to different bar associations, urged the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan to hear Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges’ allegations of interference by intelligence agencies in judicial functions under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.

It may be noted that the federal government has also formed a committee for probe under the head of ex-CJP Justice (retired) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani.