Islamabad (Web Desk): The federal cabinet on Saturday approved the appointment of former chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani as the head of an inquiry commission tasked with probing the allegations levelled by Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges regarding interference of intelligence agencies in judicial matters.
The development comes after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and CJP Qazi Faez Isa, during a meeting, agreed to investigate the matter.
Earlier, CJP Isa said that any interference by the executive in the affairs and judicial workings of judges would not be tolerated.
The CJP’s remarks were made in a press release issued by the Supreme Court (SC) following a letter by six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges accusing the intelligence agencies of interfering in judicial affairs.
On Tuesday, the IHC judges including, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Fafat Imtiaz, wrote the letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), urged the council to convene a judicial convention over the alleged interference of intelligence agencies in judicial affairs.
“The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) received a letter dated 25 March 2024 from six judges of the Islamabad High Court on 26 March 2024. Considering the gravity of the allegations levelled in the said letter, the CJP called a meeting on the same day with the Chief Justice and all the Judges of the Islamabad High Court after Iftar at 8 pm at the CJP’s residence. The concerns of all the Judges were heard individually in a meeting that lasted for over 2 and a half hours,” the statement said.
It added that, “The following day, 27 March 2024, the CJP met with the Attorney-General and the Law Minister, and thereafter the CJP along with the Senior Puisne Judge met with the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and the senior most member of the Pakistan Bar Council present in Islamabad. A Full Court Meeting of all the Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan was called under the chairmanship of the CJP at 4 pm the same day. The Full Court deliberated over the issues raised in the letter sent by the six Judges of the Islamabad High Court.”
