A six-member bench of the Supreme Court will hear the suo moto case on Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges’ letter regarding alleged intelligence agencies’ interference in their judicial work today (Tuesday).
The bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, and comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Musarrat Hilali, and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan will hear the case.
Pakistan Bar Council’s six members, Lahore High Court Bar Association, Islamabad High Court Bar Association, Balochistan High Court Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan, Mian Dawood, Sardar Shahbaz Ali Khosa filed the petitions urging the apex court to take up the case.
They had demanded holding of judicial inquiry by the judges of Supreme Court for probing allegations levelled in the IHC judges’ letter dated March 25.
The IHC six judges – Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Saman Raffat Imtiaz – on March 25 wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against the alleged “interference” and “intimidation” by the “operatives of intelligence agencies.”
In the letter they had sought guidance on the interference of intelligent agencies in judicial functions. The Supreme Court, therefore, initiated suo motu proceedings on the letter. It in April 3 order, stated that a suo motu notice was taken owing to the seriousness of the matter, while the meeting with Prime Minister was also held considering the gravity of the issue.
The apex court called for proposals from the main stakeholders in the judicial system and the independence of judiciary, namely the Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association, high courts and the federal government.
