ISLAMABAD (National Times) – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to meet Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa at the Supreme Court on Thursday, the law minister has said.
Confirming the meeting, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that discussions would be held regarding an epistle received by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) from six judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
On Tuesday, six IHC judges penned a letter to the SJC, alleging interference in judicial matters by the country’s intelligence agencies.
The SJC comprises CJP Isa, apex court judges Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar, IHC CJ Aamer Farooq and Peshawar High Court CJ Mohammad Ibrahim Khan.
The IHC judges, in their letter to the SJC, asserted that there were efforts to coerce judges by targeting their relatives through abduction and torture, along with clandestine surveillance of their residences.
According to the law minister, PM Shehbaz will be accompanied by Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan and himself. The meeting was set for 2pm on Thursday, Tarar said.
FULL COURT MEETING
Following calls from various quarters, CJP Isa convened a full court meeting of apex court’s judges on Wednesday. The session lasted a little over two hours, but no details of this meeting were shared with the media till the filing of this report.
It is learnt that a proposal to initiate suo motu proceedings to probe the accusations was also discussed in the meeting.
PBC SUMMONED ON APRIL 5
Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Executive Committee Chairman Farooq H. Naek, in the meanwhile, summoned a meeting of the committee on April 5 to discuss the situation which arose after the IHC judges’ letter.
PBC Vice Chairman Riazat Ali Sahar and Farooq Naek called for a thorough investigation by a proper committee, comprising at least three senior judges of the Supreme Court and constituted by CJP Isa.
On the other hand, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Shahzad Shaukat and Secretary Syed Ali Imran, along with the 26th Executive Committee of the association, expressed their commitment to the independence of the judiciary.
SUPREME COURT MOVED
Meanwhile, a lawyer from Lahore, Advocate Mian Dawood, moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday for a high-powered inquiry commission to probe the allegations.
The petitioner also pleaded that strict action be taken against those found guilty.
