Six Pakistani high court justices accuse ISI of intimidation in a letter to the top court council
ISLAMABAD: Six judges of Pakistan’s high courts have accused the nation’s most potent spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, of interfering with legal matters and employing “intimidating” methods to sway the results of cases that interest them, including secret surveillance and even the kidnapping and torture of their family members.
Six of the eight justices on the Islamabad high court sent a shocking letter on March 25 pleading for the nation’s judicial watchdog, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), to investigate the claims made against ISI officers.
Qazi Faez Isa, Pakistan’s Chief Justice, and two more esteemed justices, one each from the supreme and high courts, make up the SJC.
“We consider it necessary to investigate and ascertain whether the state’s executive branch, through intelligence agents who work for it, has a persistent policy of intimidating judges with the threat of coercion or blackmail in order to manipulate legal decisions in politically significant cases,” the letter stated.
It seems that allegations of judges being intimidated and coerced in “politically consequential” matters are related to issues involving the imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan.
Seven claimed incidents of intimidation and meddling by intelligence officers were highlighted in the letter. It was noted that the intelligence agency exerted significant pressure on two of the three judges sitting on the bench considering the motion to remove Imran Khan from office for hiding his purported daughter, arguing that the matter could not be pursued. These judges were influenced by friends and family. The letter said that one of the judges had to be hospitalised owing to high blood pressure since the situation had become so tense.
The law ministry, Pakistan’s military, and the ISI have not yet replied to the letter.
The letter also mentioned the kidnapping of an Islamabad High Court judge’s brother-in-law by armed men posing as ISI agents. The victim made false accusations, ostensibly against the judge, and was “forced to record a video” in addition to receiving “electric shocks.”
According to the letter, the Islamabad High Court judge discovered last year that his official apartment was bugged with spy cameras hidden in his bedroom and drawing room during normal maintenance.
The recovery of data from the monitoring apparatus revealed the storage of “private videos of the judge and his family members.” The top judge of the Islamabad High Court was made aware of the situation. The letter said, “It has not been decided who is to be held responsible for installing the equipment.
In their letter, they requested that a judicial convention be convened to address the issue of intelligence agents interfering with court proceedings and/or intimidating judges in a way that compromises the judiciary’s independence.
Chief Justice Faez Isa convened a full court meeting of the Supreme Court justices on Wednesday to review the letter in response to requests from a variety of sources.
