Pakistan: In a rare backlash, senior judges accuse top spy agency of coercion
Up to six justices of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) requested that the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) step in to address claims that Pakistan’s most powerful intelligence services were interfering with the judiciary’s ability to do its job.
The letter required that the SJC start a judicial convention to prevent this kind of meddling in court matters. The signed letter, dated March 25, also promoted taking a stand to guarantee the independence of the judiciary via the convention. The highest authority authorized to take action against judges of the Supreme and High Courts is the SJC.
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) intelligence organization is managed by the Pakistani military, which has long been accused of meddling in civilian matters. The letter, however, is an uncommon critique of their mostly unchallenged authority. Before the elections on February 8, commentators stated the military was using the legal system to discredit opposition leader Imran Khan. Khan was ultimately imprisoned and barred from holding public office.
In the letter, we requested guidance from the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) regarding a judge’s obligation to report and address actions taken by executive branch employees, including intelligence agency operatives, that aim to obstruct the performance of their official duties and may be construed as intimidation. We also asked that the judge report any such actions that they become aware of concerning coworkers or judges under the High Court’s supervision.
It continues by highlighting the executive branch’s and agencies’ meddling in legal affairs, such as the high court judge’s brother-in-law’s abduction and torture to exert pressure on the judge over a case. It also said, “We will also note that the SJC-mandated code of conduct for judges does not offer any guidance on how judges must respond to and/or report incidents that amount to intimidation and impede judicial independence.”
“It is imperative to investigate and ascertain whether the executive branch of the state, through intelligence operatives reporting to the executive branch, has a persistent policy to intimidate judges, under the threat of coercion or blackmail, to engineer judicial outcomes in politically consequential matters,” the judges added. This happened a few days after the Supreme Court ruled that former IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s dismissal was unlawful and that he may now be regarded as a retired judge.
The SJC’s prosecution of Justice Siddiqui was based on the “assumption that the truth or falseness of the allegations levelled” by the former judge was “irrelevant,” according to the ruling. On October 11, 2018, Siddiqui was fired by the SJC for remarks he had made at the Rawalpindi Bar Association a few weeks prior in which he accused the nation’s most potent intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of swaying the legal system and selecting judges.
The IHC justices endorsed Justice Siddiqui’s call for an investigation into his claims in their letter. The letter, which formally draws attention to the suspected participation of executive and intelligence services in topics pertaining to the judiciary, is said to be unusual. It also asks the SJC, the highest authority, for cooperation in taking action against judges and for direction on such matters.
