ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – An upward of 300 lawyers have urged the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take suo moto of six Islamabad High Court judges’ allegations of interference by agencies in judicial matters.
Six IHC judges recently penned a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) alleging that personnel of security agencies were employing ham-handed tactics to influence verdicts of cases.
The judges are: 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.
The government, in response, constituted a one-man commission comprising retired Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani to probe the allegations.
More than 300 lawyers belonging to bar associations appreciated the bold step of the IHC judges and demanded that the apex court hear the matter under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. Interestingly, Justice Jillani’s son Saqib Jillani is among the lawyers who plead for suo motu of the case by the apex court.
“We endorse the resolutions passed by the Islamabad High Court Bar Association, the Islamabad Bar Association, the Sindh High Court Bar Association, the Pakistan Bar Council, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council and the Balochistan Bar Council to the extent that they resolve to uphold the principle of independence of judiciary, express solidarity with the six judges of the Islamabad High Court, commend their courageous action and demand appropriate action to uphold such principles,” the lawyers said.
The joint statement has the signatures of Advocates Salman Akram Raja, Imaan Mazari, Abdul Moiz Jaferri, Zainab Janjua and others.
The statement highlighted that former IHC judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui also raised similar allegations and was removed from office.
The lawyers also urged the Pakistan Bar Council as well as all bar associations to call a convention of lawyers across the country to decide a course of action. They said the matter should be dealt with in the public eye to ensure transparency.