Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar has announced the formation of a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations that Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agency interfered with the judicial decisions of the country’s courts and intimidated judges.
In a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday (March 28), Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said that the decision was taken in a meeting between Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa.
Azam Nazir said that this decision was taken in a meeting between Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Issar.
Azam Nazir said that this decision was taken in a meeting between Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Issar.
The meeting between the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice was held after a letter written by six judges of the Islamabad High Court was sent to the Chief Justice’s office regarding the complaint.
The judges alleged that the country’s top intelligence agency ‘Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)’ was intimidating them in deciding political cases.
The media office of the Pakistan military did not respond when asked for a comment on the matter.
However, it can be seen in the letter sent by the judges to the address of the Supreme Judicial Council. Chief Justice Isa is the head of that council.
For example, the letter said, last year, members of the ISI intimidated two judges through their “friends and relatives” after refusing to consider a political case against the jailed leader Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan.
In the letter, the six judges also said that they informed the Chief Justice of the time about some such incidents and met the Chief Justice to “express their concern about the ISI’s attempts to interfere in judicial decisions”.
Then the Chief Justice of that time assured them that he would talk to the ISI chief about the matter. He also said that such interference will not be attempted again.
But the judges also claimed in the letter that despite the Chief Justice’s assurance, the interference in judicial proceedings continued.
