The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of a letter written by six judges of the Islamabad High Court to the Supreme Judicial Council.
A seven-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa will hear the case at 11:30 am on Wednesday. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Jamal Mandokhel, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Musarrat Hilali, and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan are also part of the bench.
On Saturday, the federal cabinet approved the formation of a commission of inquiry to investigate the letter of six judges of the Islamabad High Court. Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Tasadduq Hussain Jilani was nominated to head the commission of inquiry.
The cabinet meeting denied the ICH judges’ allegations of executive interference. The members of the cabinet held a unanimous opinion that they strongly believed in the principle of decentralization of powers in state institutions.
The cabinet also approved the TORs of the Commission of Inquiry. According to the assignment of the commission, if necessary, the head of the commission can seek the services of anyone. The commission will have 60 days to prepare the report.
A letter addressed to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) by the judges of the Islamabad High Court, alleging interference in judicial affairs, has sparked controversy. IHC judges Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Saman Rafat Imtiaz signed the letter, which was dated 25.
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It lists seven alleged cases of interference and intimidation by intelligence officials “to influence the outcome of cases of interest to us.”
She also pointed out that two of the three judges sitting on the bench hearing the case to remove PTI founder Imran Khan for allegedly harboring his daughter had expressed their opinion that the case could not be prosecuted as they felt pressured by “ISI operatives” through friends and family.
The letter stated that one of the judges had to be hospitalized due to high blood pressure because the situation became so stressful.
The six judges said the then CJP and the Chief Justice of the IHC were apprised of the situation. “I spoke to the DG-C ISI and was assured that no ISI official would approach the IHC judges,” the former told the judges.
