ISLAMABAD: Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has said that the Federal Government will set up an inquiry commission to investigate accusations by six High Court judges of interference and intimidation by the country’s powerful intelligence agencies in judicial decisions.
Tarar made the announcement at a news conference, saying the decision was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa.
Their meeting took place after a letter written by six judges of the Islamabad High Court was sent to Isa’s office. It alleged that the country’s top spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), had been intimidating them to seek favourable decisions in political cases.
“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,” said the letter, addressed to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.
“We want it to be thoroughly probed because we had also been its victim,” Azam Tarar said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will formally take the decision to set up the commission in a cabinet meeting on Friday, Tarar said.
Read more: Premier Shehbaz Sharif to meet CJP Faez Isa on IHC judges’ letter today
