The government of Pakistan on Saturday set up a commission of inquiry headed by Justice (retd) Tasadeq Jilani to investigate the allegations leveled in a letter by six judges of the Islamabad High Court.
According to the announcement issued by the Prime Minister House after the Federal Cabinet meeting today, the Cabinet also approved the Terms of Reference (TORs) of the Commission of Inquiry.
According to the TORs, the inquiry commission will thoroughly investigate the allegations made in the judges’ letter and determine whether the allegations are true or not.
According to the declaration, the Commission of Inquiry will determine whether any official was directly involved in the interference. The commission will recommend action against an agency, department or government body based on the facts revealed in its investigation.
The Commission will also have the power to examine any other matter it deems necessary during the course of the inquiry.
The Cabinet meeting denied the allegation of executive interference in the letter and called it inappropriate.
The Cabinet members were of the unanimous opinion that the constitution of Pakistan, 1973, strongly believed in the principle of division of powers among the three state institutions.
The statement said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated his determination to have complete faith in the independence of the judiciary and the principle of constitutional separation of powers, and after this letter to the Cabinet, he also expressed his confidence about his consultation and meeting with the Chief Justice of Pakistan. took
The Cabinet fully endorsed and supported the Prime Minister’s decisions and actions taken so far.
Letter of the Six Judges
This week, six judges of the Islamabad High Court had written a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council and demanded to convene a judicial convention, alleging interference in judicial affairs.
The letter writers include Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Taman Rifat.
The letter claimed that ‘intelligence agencies are interfering in the work of the judiciary, so a judicial convention should be convened on the issue of intimidation of judges by intelligence officials.’
The judges sought guidance from the members of the Supreme Judicial Council through this letter and said that we are writing this letter for guidance from the Supreme Judicial Council.
The letter added that “interference in judicial affairs by intelligence officials and intimidation of judges undermines the independence of the judiciary, such institutional consultation can be helpful on how to protect the independence of the judiciary.”
Prime Minister’s meeting with Chief Justice
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Qazi Faiz Isa on Thursday after the letter came out.
Prime Minister of Law Nazir Tarar, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, second senior judge of Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Registrar Supreme Court Jazeela Aslam also participated in the meeting.
After the meeting, while holding a press conference along with the Attorney General, Prime Minister Nazir Tarar said that various aspects were discussed keeping in mind the seriousness of the meeting, such things have been happening before.
He said: ‘The Prime Minister said that there will be no compromise on the independence of the judiciary.’
At the same time, he expressed his commitment that he will definitely be red-handed with his constitutional responsibility and assured that it is the duty of the government to investigate this matter and if these things are true, then it will be certain in the future. It should be made so that such a situation does not happen.’
Azam Nazir Tarar further said that the Cabinet has the power to inquire into the matter under the Commission of Inquiry.
At the same time, he said that ‘some reputable, impartial retired personality should head this commission and conduct an inquiry and prepare a report as per the law and regulations.’
The Law Minister further said that Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa has also agreed to the inquiry commission.
Full court session
Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa also convened a full court meeting on the issue of the letter, after which a statement said that executive interference in judicial affairs will not be tolerated.
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The statement said that during the meeting between Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, it was suggested to form a commission of inquiry headed by a retired judge to investigate the allegations under the ‘Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act 2017’.
The statement further said that the prime minister will take the approval of the commission of inquiry in the meeting of the federal cabinet.
According to the statement, during the meeting, the Chief Justice made it clear that the interference of the executive in judicial affairs and proceedings will not be allowed and in any case, the independence of the judiciary will not be allowed to be compromised.
According to the statement: ‘The Chief Justice of Pakistan received a letter from six judges of the Islamabad High Court on 25 March 2024 and on 26 March 2024, considering the seriousness of the allegations made in the letter, the Chief Justice of Pakistan on the same day Had a meeting with the Justice and all the judges of the Islamabad High Court and called them to the residence of the Chief Justice at 8 pm.
“In the meeting which lasted for two and a half hours, the concerns of all the judges were heard individually.”
It was further said that ‘the next day on March 27, the Chief Justice met the Attorney General and the Law Minister and after that the Chief Justice along with Senior Judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and the senior most member of the Pakistan Bar. Met.
Then on the same day at four o’clock in the evening, a full court meeting of all the judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan was called. The full court session considered the points raised in the letter sent by six judges of the Islamabad High Court.
“There was a consensus among the judges in the full court that the seriousness of the situation required that the Chief Justice meet the Prime Minister.”
Reaction of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat has said that the formation of the commission will be challenged after consultation.
In an interaction with journalists in Islamabad, he said that the government has announced the name of Justice (retd) Tasadeq Jilani as the head of a one-member inquiry commission, which Tehreek-e-Insaf rejects.
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2024-05-07 09:01:55
