Islamabad judge accuses Pakistan’s ISI of interfering in judicial affairs

Islamabad judge writes a letter to Supreme Judicial Council over ISI interference. (representative)

Islamabad:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge has urged the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to convene a judicial conference over the alleged interference in judicial affairs by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Geo News reported.

All seven judges of the IHC, except Chief Justice Aamir Farooq, wrote to all judges of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Supreme Court, highlighting how senior ISI officials influence the judicial process and put pressure on judges.

In a letter to the SJC, six judges of the IHC – 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 – sought from the SJC guide. Committee on spy agencies’ “interference” in court matters.

“We write to seek guidance from the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on the duty of judges to report and respond to attempts by executive staff, including intelligence agency personnel, to interfere with releases. “His/her official functions do not amount to intimidation,” the letter reads. and is obliged to report any such behavior that comes to his/her attention in relation to colleagues and/or members of the Court supervised by the High Court. “

A few days ago, the Supreme Court declared the removal of former IHC judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui illegal and directed that he can now be treated as a retired judge, Geo News reported.

“This case comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s judgment in the case of Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui v. Federation of Pakistan (CP No. 76 of 2018) dated March 22, 2024, in which it was declared that Justice Siddiqui, formerly of the Islamabad High Court ( “IHC”) Senior Judge, was wrongly removed from office and deemed retired in accordance with the report of the Supreme Judicial Council (“SJC”) of October 11, 2018. IHC Judge,” it reads.

“Justice Siddiqui was removed from office after publicly alleging that Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) operatives under Major General Faiz Hameed (ISI Commander-in-Chief) were deciding the composition of judges of the IHC and interfering with its work. Islamabad Accountability Court Proceedings,” the letter added.

The judgment further stated that the SJC filed proceedings against Justice Siddiqui on the grounds that it was “irrelevant” to “assume the truth or falsity of the allegations made by the former judge.”

It also stated that the SJC found that Judge Siddiqui failed to substantiate, independently corroborate, corroborate or substantiate the allegations made by him, Geo News reported.

In their letter, the IHC judges pointed out that the code of conduct for judges set out by the SJC does not guide them “how they must respond to and/or report incidents that amount to intimidation and interference with the independence of the judiciary”.

The judges further stated that they “believed it was necessary to investigate and determine whether there was a policy of sustained interference by the state executive in the affairs of the judiciary.”

Furthermore, the judges of the International Commission on Human Rights urged the convening of a judicial conference to consider the issue of “intelligence agents interfering with judicial functions and/or intimidating judges in a manner that undermines the independence of the judiciary.”

In addition, the judges further said, “Such institutional consultations may assist the Supreme Court in considering how best to protect judicial independence, establish a mechanism to hold accountable those who undermine judicial independence, and provide clarification for the benefit of individuals.” When they find themselves being interfered with and/or intimidated by members of the executive, they judge the course of action they must take. “

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