ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) once again plainly rejected the formation of an inquiry commission to investigate the letter of the six judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) detailing the intelligence agencies’ meddling in judicial matters and demanded the resignation of Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice IHC for their alleged vacillation to take actions for the protection and safeguard of independence of the judiciary and fellow judges.
Speaking at a news conference along with senior PTI legal team Shoaib Shaheen, Niazullah Niazi, and Naeem Haider Panjutha, PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hassan said that the judges of the IHC clearly stated in their letter that they repeatedly raised the issue before the chief justice IHC and even apprised the chief justice of the Supreme Court detailing the interference in the affairs of the judiciary and pressure exerted on them to get decisions of their choice.
“What is happening in front of us is judicial surrender, as the judiciary itself is selling its independence to the executive,” he said.
Apart from the chief justice IHC, the chief justice of Pakistan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also been nominated in the letter.
“Therefore expecting justice from them is tantamount to murder of justice, constitution and law,” he added.
He stated that all these unlawful activities were conducted when Shehbaz Sharif was the prime minister. “Thus, it would be a murder of law and justice to expect fair and transparent conduct of investigation,” he added.
He categorically stated that PTI vehemently rejects the inquiry commission and they would take every step within the constitution and law to ensure independence of the judiciary come what may.
Speaking on the occasion, Shaheen said that the letter written by IHC judges was a tragic chapter in the history of Pakistan.
He stated that they penned down details of their accounts as how they were pressurised and their family members were harassed, cameras were installed in the bedrooms of the judges and bugging devices were fixed inside their homes and even close relatives were kidnapped and given electric shocks.
He said that PTI leaders including women, workers, and youth had been facing the same cruelties and barbarities for the two years in the name of May 9.
“We have repeatedly requested for the establishment of a judicial commission, but till today neither the CCTV footages could be presented nor the commission was constituted,” he added.
Shaheen asked as to whether a retired judge be able to provide justice to the judges. He demanded that 15 judges of the apex court should sit to conduct an independent and transparent inquiry into the letter saga, adding that the PTI would no longer accept closed-room decisions.
He further demanded that the minutes of the full court meetings should be released to find out which judge said what.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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