Six judges of the Islamabad High Court have alleged that Pakistan’s top intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) interfered in the judicial decisions of the country’s courts and threatened the judges. Recently they conveyed the matter through a letter to Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa.
In the letter, the judges mentioned that the ISI has been intimidating judges to give verdicts in their favor in political cases. ISI is even monitoring their homes by installing cameras in their bedrooms.
As an example of threats, the 6 judges said in the letter sent to the Supreme Judicial Council that the members of the ISI threatened to ‘kidnap’ the two judges with their families, friends and relatives as they did not agree to take into account a political case against the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan last year.
6 judges of Islamabad High Court also said that they informed the Chief Justice about some such incidents and expressed their concern about ISI’s interference in judicial decisions. They alleged that the ISI continued to interfere in judicial proceedings despite the Chief Justice’s assurances.
In this regard, Chief Justice of Pakistan Kazi Faiz Isa said on Wednesday that we will adopt a zero tolerance policy regarding any threat to the independence of the judiciary.
Imran Khan’s former adviser Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari said that this is not the first time that ISI has interfered with Pakistan’s judiciary. It is clearly proved in the complaint of the judges of Islamabad High Court.
Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said the government will set up an inquiry commission to investigate allegations of ISI interfering in judicial decisions and threatening judges. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif will take a formal decision on the formation of the inquiry committee in the cabinet meeting on Friday. We want a thorough investigation into this allegation as we are also victims of it.
Earlier, Imran Khan’s rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had leveled the same charge against the ISI.
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