File photo
Islamabad:
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that the government would investigate threatening letters containing “suspicious powder” received by judges of the Supreme Court and Islamabad and Lahore high courts.
Eight judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and three judges of the Lahore High Court received threatening letters containing white powder suspected of anthrax.
“The letters sent to various judges yesterday, along with reports that they contained suspicious powder […] So I think we should take full responsibility for this and not let politics of any kind get into this [matter]”, Dawn News quoted the prime minister as saying during a cabinet meeting.
“The Pakistani government will investigate this with a sense of responsibility,” Sharif said.
The letters were sent to all judges in white envelopes sealed with cello tape, with their names and court addresses written on them.
The letters carried a threatening message, blaming judges for problems facing the people of Pakistan, the report said.
Two members of the judge’s staff opened the envelope and discovered the suspicious powder inside, which they reported to the IHC clerk, who summoned the police responsible for court security.
A case was opened and, according to the FIR, the sender address of the letters was incomplete.
The FIR said the letters criticized the judicial system while referring to Pakistan’s “Tehreek-i-Namoos” movement and used a particular photo and the English word “Anthrax” to convey the threat.
The next day, similar letters were received by the Supreme Court and Lahore High Court (LHC), prompting the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) to register two cases in Islamabad and Lahore.
The letter from the Supreme Court was sent to Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Issa, Justice Atal Minallah, Justice Jamal Khan Mandohail and Justice Aminuddin.
Letters sent by unknown groups threaten Supreme Court judges to “save evil”. A suspicious powder was found inside the envelope and sent to a forensic laboratory.
An official said the judge’s personal staff who received the threats discovered the letters in the daily mail received by the high court.
The official said that after letters were sent to IHC judges, staff at all LHC judges have been put on alert.
Earlier on Thursday, Islamabad police said “checks are being carried out on entry routes to the High Court and the high security zone”.
Police posted on X urging citizens to bring ID.
More than a week ago, six IHC judges complained in a shocking letter to members of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) about alleged interference in judicial matters by the country’s security agencies.
Prime Minister Sharif reviewed the developments in the matter and pointed to the Supreme Court proceedings against judges of the International Commission on Human Rights on charges of interference in judicial affairs.
“We fulfilled our responsibilities and then these changes happened,” he said.
Last week, Shehbaz met Chief Justice Issa and the two decided to set up a commission of inquiry, which was later approved by the federal cabinet.
However, former CJP Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, who headed the one-man inquiry committee, recused himself.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has notified Somotu of the matter.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
