KARACHI: Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa addresses Sindh High Court Bar Association on Thursday.
KARACHI - Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Thursday said he had received no complaints of meddling during his tenure, so far, as the CJP.
Speaking at a ceremony organised by the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) on Thursday, the top judge said, “Since I have been Chief Justice, I have not received a single complaint from any high court judge regarding interference in their work. If there has been interference in their work, it has not been reported to me,” he said. All the incidents that were mentioned in the judges’ letter were before he took the oath as the CJP.
Justice Isa acknowledged that while there have been incidents mentioned in the past, they occurred before his tenure as CJP. Acknowledging the support extended by the SHCBA to six judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) who wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council seeking guidance on countering interference from intelligence agencies, Justice Isa expressed gratitude on their behalf.
The statement of the top judge comes after six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges wrote a letter regarding the alleged meddling. The last was written on March 25 and was signed by judges Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Saman Rafat Imtiaz.
After a meeting between CJP Isa and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on March 28, they decided to form a commission to investigate the concerns of interference in judicial affairs following the cabinet’s 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.
On April 3, CJP Isa said that “any attack” on the judiciary’s 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. The chief justice addressed the issue during his SHCBA address, saying that the incidents mentioned in the IHC letter were from before his tenure as the top judge began.
“Interference is not acceptable, but at the same time, nothing has been reported to me under my watch.”
Reminiscing about his time working at the Sindh High Court building, the CJP said: “I have many memories of this building and the one next to it,” adding that the high court building is “indeed an architectural gem”.
