Islamabad (Web Desk): Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday said there would be no compromise on national security issues that needed to be discussed at appropriate forums through proper procedure.
Addressing a news conference along with Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, he said the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) is the representative of State and his request for in-camera briefing on a specific national security issue, had been taken out of context.
He pointed out that the AGP had made the request just for the sake of national security.
Atta Tarar underlined the need of fully understanding the sensitivity of national interest, adding that the Attorney General had already clarified his position on the issue.
He said the national security issues should be discussed at the appropriate forums. “If a matter needs discussion, the chief justice has the authority to call a full-court,” he added.
The minister expressed the optimism that the institutions would collectively work for the national interests of the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the office of AGP requested the IHC for an in-camera briefing.
He said that an impression was created as if the matters of the court are being interfered with.
The minister said that the commission was formed on six judges' letters to “separate wheat from chaff”.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan on Tuesday denies allegations of the government or any other state institution interfering in judicial matters.
The AGP’s remarks came shortly after the IHC began hearing two contempt pleas pertaining to the character assassination of IHC’s Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on social media and the leaking of Justice Babar Sattar’s personal details.
Awan maintained that it is necessary to issue clarification as the matter of the IHC judges' letter is being presented in a manner that implies a growing conflict between the executive and the judiciary.
“It was requested to hear surveillance-related matters in-camera, to ensure the matter does not go into the public domain in order to protect the capabilities of our security and intelligence agencies,” Awan said, adding that this was communicated to the relevant quarters.
“The office of the AGP and the AAG acts as a "bridge" to facilitate communication,” he clarified.
He said that neither the government or any state institution can meddle in the affairs of the judiciary and I strongly deny any such impression.
The AGP added that as per his information, no official from any security institution had made such kind of direct contact and nor could they do so, saying that it was his own office that had initiated the contact to request that sensitive information be shared in in-camera hearings only.
He urged the media to present the “proper context” of the letter.
It is pertinent to mention that IHC Justice Babar Sattar of IHC, in a "letter" to IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, said that he was delivered messages on behalf of top officials in the security establishment asking him to "back-off" from extensive scrutiny of the existence and mode of surveillance in the audio leak case.
