Shehbaz Sharif
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to meet Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa today to address the allegations raised by Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges regarding interference from the country’s intelligence agencies in judicial matters, on Thursday.
Sources within the government have indicated that the prime minister will be accompanied by the attorney general and the law minister during his visit to the Supreme Court, scheduled for 2pm.
However, sources from the apex court have denied any knowledge of the planned meeting.
The development follows a letter sent by 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 Rafat Imtiaz — to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), urging for a judicial convention to address allegations of executive interference, including from intelligence agencies, in judicial affairs.
The letter emphasized that the code of conduct for judges prescribed by the SJC lacks guidance on how judges should respond to incidents that amount to intimidation and threaten judicial independence.
In response to the letter, a full court meeting of the apex court was convened in the federal capital to discuss the matter. The meeting, chaired by CJP Isa, aimed to seek guidance from the SJC regarding the duty of judges to report and respond to actions from the executive that undermine the discharge of their official duties.
Meanwhile, bar associations and senior lawyers have demanded a thorough investigation into the matter, recognizing its potential consequences for the judiciary.
Additionally, a constitutional petition has been filed in the apex court, calling for an open court investigation into the letter submitted by the IHC judges.
The petition, submitted by Mian Dawood Advocate, advocates for the formation of an empowered commission to investigate the allegations outlined in the letter.
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