Pakistan Bar Council calls for formation of judicial commission of SC judges on meddling in judicial affairs

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 6 : The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Friday demanded a judicial commission, which includes sitting Supreme Court judges, to look into complaints about the alleged meddling of intelligence agencies in judicial affairs, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.
In its 242nd meeting, the PBC stated that setting up a judicial commission was needed for an impartial investigation which does not have any external interference and stressed that it was important to find the truth.
The PCB raised the demand when former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Abid Shahid Zuberi also requested the apex court to become a party in the suo motu proceedings on the issue.
The PBC meeting, chaired by the council's vice chairman Riazat Ali Sahar, took notice of the demand for the resignation of Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and condemned the social media campaign against them.
In a resolution adopted at the meeting, the PBC said that the trolling of judges was uncalled for as such a demand amounted to strengthening the hands of those who wanted divisions in the judiciary.
Pakistan's regulatory body of lawyers stated that calling for the resignation of these judges would undermine the judiciary and fail to resolve the existing issues and added that it would further worsen the situation.
The participants in the meeting discussed the issue of alleged interference by the intelligence agencies in judicial affairs in the wake of the letter written by six IHC judges to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on March 25.
The Pakistani government had formed a one-man commission, which comprised retired Justice Tassaduq Jillani, to probe the allegations. However, Jillani recused himself from the probe. Subsequently, a seven-judge SC bench took suo motu notice of the case. During the hearing, the Chief Justice of Pakistan hinted at forming a full court bench to proceed with the matter.
In its resolution, Pakistan's regulatory body of lawyers requested the apex court to decide the present suo moto case as expeditiously as possible. As per the resolution, the judges held the highest esteem in the nation and had the responsibility of adjudicating cases and meticulously deliberating allegations before reaching verdicts.
The resolution stated that the judges epitomise legal system's foundation, free from political or external pressures to administer justice untainted by extraneous moral, internal or external influences, embodying independence and impartiality. The PBC stressed that it is a moment of great importance and concern for the independent working of the judicial system of Pakistan when judges raise concern through a written letter.
The council underscored that a comprehensive probe into the allegations was "not only justified but necessary" to safeguard law, constitution and fundamental rights of citizens. It expressed fear that the judges raising the issue means that they have been "cornered" by the agencies, leading them to cry for help from the highest legal forum in hierarchy of judicial system.
Meanwhile, former SCBA president Zuberi filed a petition to become a party in the case. Zuberi requested the apex court to order the SJC to give guidelines that need to be observed by judges during instances of blackmail, coercion and harassment in future.
Zuberi urged the Supreme Court to pass a restraining order, which requires executives, including intelligence agencies, to refrain from interfering in the judiciary's functions. He also urged the apex court to issue an order for the prosecution of the members of the executive responsible for such interference to hold them accountable.
He requested the court to ensure strict notice at an institutional level, on the concerns expressed by the six IHC judges and fix responsibility for alleged interference in the matters of the judiciary at all levels, including lower and superior judiciary.