Retired Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, a former chief justice, was on Saturday appointed the head of the inquiry commission that will investigate charges of interference into judicial independence by the intelligence apparatus.
On Tuesday, six Islamabad High Court judges — out of a total strength of eight — wrote a startling letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) members, regarding attempts to pressure judges through abduction and torture of their relatives as well as secret surveillance inside their homes.
A day later, calls emerged from various quarters for a probe into the investigation, amid which Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa summoned a full court meeting of the Supreme Court’s judges.
After a meeting between CJP Isa and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday, the duo decided to form a commission to investigate the concerns of interference in judicial affairs following the cabinet’s approval.
According to the Terms of Reference (TORs) for the inquiry body released today, the federal cabinet approved the appointment of former CJP Jillani as the head of the commission.
According to the TORs, the commission will fully investigate the allegations of the IHC judges and determine their veracity, if any. It will also investigate if any official was directly involved in judicial interference and suggest action against any agency, department or state institution based on the facts unearthed.
The commission will also be at liberty to investigate any other matter during the course of the inquiry if it feels the issue to be important.
The federal cabinet repudiated the allegations of the IHC judges and declared them to be “inappropriate”, adding that the consensus of its members was that they believed in the separation of powers of state institutions as per the Constitution.
PM Shehbaz reiterated his faith in the principle of the judiciary’s independence of the judiciary and the division of constitutional powers. He briefed the cabinet members on his meeting with the chief justice and they expressed their complete support of the decisions and actions taken so far.
Interference of executive intolerable: CJP
A statement was issued by the Supreme Court after Thursday’s meeting, saying that “the CJP clearly stated that interference by the executive in the affairs and judicial workings of judges will not be tolerated and under no circumstances can the independence of the judiciary be allowed to be compromised.
“During the meeting, a proposal was made to constitute an inquiry commission under the Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act, 2017, which should be headed by a retired Judge of impeccable integrity to inquire into the matter.”
The statement had added that the premier had assured the top judge of “appropriate measures to ensure an independent judiciary, including issuance of directions to the relevant departments, and initiating legislation in accordance with paragraph 53 of the suo motu in the Faizabad sit-in judgement”.
Following the meeting, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had told media persons that although the letter was not a precursor to a constitutional crisis, it was still “painful and very serious”.
The law minister said that an inquiry by the commission was necessary to discourage a repeat of things in future while also admitting that the full court had also considered different options, like invoking Article 184(3) of the Constitution to initiate proceedings.
During his talk, the minister parried a question when asked whether the high court judges would also record their testimonies before the commission and cross-examined during the proceedings.
PTI calls on SC, IHC judges to resign over inaction
A day ago, the PTI demanded the resignation of the SC and IHC chief justices over their “inaction” on intelligence agencies’ interference in judicial affairs.
While addressing a press conference, PTI spokesman Raoof Hassan alleged that CJP Qazi Faez Isa and IHC CJ Aamer Farooq turned “a deaf ear” towards the repeated complaints of IHC judges against ISI’s interference in the judiciary’s affairs.
“Despite being informed in writing and verbally, the IHC chief justice didn’t take any action to protect judicial independence,” Hasan said, adding that it was because CJ Farooq was “complicit” in the matter.
CJ Farooq “had the biggest role” in the trial of cases against PTI founder Imran Khan and his convictions, and he “supervised” the entire process.
Hasan added that the letter also “indirectly indicted” the CJP as it stated that the CJP was apprised of the issue in “multiple meetings”.
The letter
Dated March 25, the letter was signed by IHC Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz…
Read More: Ex-CJP Tassaduq Jillani to lead probe body formed after IHC judges’ letter –