Islamabad, Pakistan: The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, and Prime Minister Mian Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting to review the issue of allegations leveled by six judges of Islamabad High Court against intelligence agencies for manipulating the law and justice and it was decided that an inquiry commission to be constituted to determine the credibility of allegations against intelligence agencies in judicial matters.
Legal circles of Islamabad believe that the meeting was demanded by the CJP because the Federal government refrained from responding to allegations leveled by six judges of the Islamabad High Court, although the media reported the content of the letter on Tuesday.
On Thursday, March 28, 2024 CJP and the Prime minister met and this meeting was followed by the press conference of the Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar along with Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan. They announced the decision to set up the Inquiry Commission to determine the credibility of allegations raised by six judges of Islamabad High Court against intelligence agencies. According to Tarar, the CJP and PM, both believed that all constitutional institutions must operate within their parameters and any interference from any institution in the matter of the judiciary is unacceptable. The Inquiry Commission under the provision of the Inquiry Act.
This is a positive development that the Federal government understood its duty to investigate the matter.
It is pertinent to mention that the CJP held a full court meeting of the Supreme Court’s judges on the same day that the content of the letter of the six judges appeared in the media while the Federal government preferred to be indecisive for two days about who would take the responsibility to initiative the investigation because that mater is grave and of sensitive nature.
Although the Federal government with the consultation of CJP has decided to form the Commission the PTI is saying that the allegations of judges cannot be investigated and inquired into by the executive and allegations should only be investigated and inquired into by judges. However, Supreme Court judges deliberated on the issue and gave their sense that the executive has the responsibility to inquire into the matter.
Legal circles believe that the PM and CJP have come to the most logical and sensible conclusion that a retired CJP or retired SCP judge should investigate and inquire into these allegations while the PTI is trying to take maximum political advantage of the situation and rejecting the Commission. The question is why PTI is rejecting the Commission. Legal circles claim that PTI is rejecting the Commission because in fact PTI does not want any investigation or inquiry into these allegations since PTI leadership knows that there is no evidence or proof available to justify the allegations of six judges.
“PTI only wants a media circus. This toxicity and polarisation serves their negative political agenda”, observed a former judicial officer when he was asked to comment on the situation. He was of the view that the letter of six judges of IHC was nothing but an attempt to make a mockery of the Judiciary and to discredit intelligence agencies of the country.
The letter is one of the hot news and the talk of the town and it seems that at the behest of Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), the judges of the Islamabad High Court have written the letter because approaching the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against the Pakistan Army although all judges know that SJC deals only with cases of the judges and it has nothing to do with any other institution of the country including the Pakistan Army. It is pertinent to remember that SJC is not an institution to investigate any other institution except the judges and judicial officials. Despite the known facts, the judges of the Islamabad High Court wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council, which is tantamount to scandalizing the judiciary.
