Pakistan judges who spoke out against intelligence agencies’ interference in judiciary are now target of a sleazy campaign … writes Dr Sakariya Kareem
The judges of Islamabad High Court (IHC), who recently raised their voices against the interference of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies in judicial matters, are now the target of an immoral campaign where their integrity is being questioned.
Earlier this year, six senior IHC judges penned a letter to the Supreme Court chief justice accusing Pakistan’s influential spy agency of interfering in judicial matters and using “intimidatory” tactics such as secret surveillance and even abduction and torture of their family members.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, in a letter dated March 25, the six IHC judges urged the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), Pakistan’s judicial watchdog which consists of the country’s chief justice, and four other top judges – two each from the Supreme Court and High Courts- to look into the allegations against officials belonging to the Pakistani military’s premier intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
“We believe it is imperative to inquire into and determine whether there exists a continuing policy on part of the executive branch of the state, implemented by intelligence operatives who report to the executive branch, to intimidate judges, under threat of coercion or blackmail, to engineer judicial outcomes in politically consequential matters,” the letter read.
As per an opinion piece published in Pakistan’s leading English daily the Dawn earlier this week, the abuse started with trolling on social media, particularly of two of the six IHC judges who spoke out against the Pak spy agencies’ interference in judicial matters, detailing the harassment that they had allegedly experienced at the hands of the intelligence agencies.
Later, complaints were filed by some “obscure persons” against two of the six judges — Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri — in the Supreme Judicial Council on fabricated charges, according to the Dawn.
The opinion piece claimed that the move was meant to pressurise the two IHC judges who are hearing politically sensitive cases.
Besides, questions were also being raised about the law degree of Justice Jahangiri who is heading an election tribunal in Islamabad, as per reports.
Nothing could be more preposterous than such suspicions being levelled at a high court judge who has previously served as advocate general, while the timing makes the allegations more dubious, with the judge hearing appeals against the election of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNAs (Members of the National Assembly), and there seems to be no cessation of the harassment of judges by the establishment, according to the Dawn opinion piece.
Similarly, Justice Sattar, who has been hearing the audio leaks case, seems to have drawn the ire of the deep state for questioning the role of the country’s spy agencies in unauthorised phone tapping.
Justice Sattar, in a letter to the IHC chief justice some time ago, said that he was asked by a top security official not to pursue the charges, and before withdrawing its plea, the Intelligence Bureau had sought the judge’s recusal from the case.
While slapping a fine of Rs 500,000 each on the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), Justice Sattar hinted at initiating contempt proceedings against the agencies.
Expectedly, the move triggered a malicious campaign against the judge not only on social media but also in a section of mainstream electronic media, which purportedly has strong links with the administration and security establishment. Some of those involved have also been served notices by the IHC, as reported by the Dawn.
The Pakistani cabinet earlier this week authorised the ISI to trace and intercept calls through any telecommunication system, reports the Dawn, adding that the decision will certainly have an impact on the audio leaks case.
Justice Malik Shehzad, who was recently elevated to the Supreme Court, is another judge targeted by the vicious campaign.
As chief justice of the Lahore High Court, Justice Shehzad had been quite vocal against the executive’s meddling in the judicial process, and he initiated contempt proceedings against state officials on a complaint filed by the presiding judge of an anti-terrorism court in Sargodha alleging harassment by the agencies, as reported by the Dawn.
According to the Dawn, someone from Mansehra in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province filed a complaint against him, which was based on a car accident, which took place some two years ago, and that allegedly involved a family member of Justice Shehzad.
The Dawn reported that the Pakistani government is completely silent on the matter, and remarks by some cabinet ministers and PML-N officials give credence to suspicions of the government’s encouragement to the campaign by sections of the media.
Meanwhile, there seems to be no cessation of the harassment of judges by the establishment or the executive’s meddling in the judicial process, and the media trial of upright judges on concocted charges is the independent judiciary’s biggest challenge, as per the Dawn.
The sleazy campaign indicates the growing shadow of the security establishment over the system, and it also threatens whatever is left of the democratic process, it reported.
Besides warning that there would be an institutional response to the immoral campaign, a full bench of the Islamabad High Court has initiated contempt proceedings against the federal agencies.
The IHC chief justice has pointed out that it was the responsibility of Pemra, PTA, and FIA to stop such smear campaigns, with bar associations extending support to the targeted judges, according to reports.
The Dawn, in the editorial piece, has questioned the role of a section of the electronic media, which is being used to malign the judges who raised voice against the country’s powerful spy agencies and refused to bow to pressure, as well as the balant misuse of social media in spreading fake news.
