By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday debated a sensitive issue of intelligence agency interference in judicial affairs, with the country’s top judge calling for legislation to rein in spy agencies and two other senior judges advocating for judicial intervention to prevent future intrusions.
The six-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, is conducting a suo motu investigation into a letter written by six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges on March 25, alleging meddling by intelligence agencies in judicial affairs.
Justice Isa observed that the top court should not interfere in the workings of the high courts, as such actions had not yielded good results in the past.
However, senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah pointed out a “golden opportunity” to lay down a code or system to prevent outside access in the future, Dawn newspaper reported.
Justice Shah lamented the culture of intimidation, where even judges couldn’t express their opinions openly and feared being watched all the time. “Why is it so that we have to put our cell phones away or change rooms to express views?” he regretted, quoting George Orwell’s iconic phrase “Big Brother is watching you.”
“We need to establish a clear firewall to prevent intelligence agencies from interfering in judicial affairs,” Justice Shah said. “We cannot allow them to dictate how we dispense justice.”
Justice Athar Minallah regretted that the judiciary’s internal weaknesses could be dealt with separately, but the real issue was the state becoming an aggressor against judges. “This is called intimidation,” he insisted, referring to IHC Justice Babar Sattar’s personal data being put on social media.
Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan read out recommendations forwarded by all four high courts, including a letter from the Peshawar High Court’s registrar highlighting threats received by judges from non-state actors.
The Supreme Court put off further proceedings until May 7, directing intelligence agencies to furnish their response through the Attorney General’s office and the Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar Association to furnish a unanimous response.
The court made it clear that it would not make any applicant a party to the case, despite several petitions.
CJP Isa said he would never accept any interference from any source and stressed that there had not been a single complaint since he took office.
Justice Minallah feared that the interference phenomenon had been happening for the last 76 years, adding that when the family data of children and wives was stolen from government departments, the entire onus was on the state.
“If the government is talking about legislation, it must also acknowledge that it was helpless,” Justice Minallah regretted, wondering whether the government was also helpless when political engineering was taking place in 2017 against the government of that day.
CJP Isa said the matter could be sorted out if the government or parliament enacted legislation so that intelligence agencies would know their boundaries. “We want to make parliament stronger, otherwise other powers or entities will become powerful,” he said.
Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan asked AGP Awan to assist the Supreme Court by presenting legal instruments enacted at the time when intelligence agencies such as the Inter-Services Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, and Military Intelligence were established, as well as apprising the court about the job description of these agencies.
The hearing was attended by a packed courtroom, with many lawyers and judges in attendance. The issue has sparked widespread debate and concern among the legal fraternity and civil society, with many calling for an end to intelligence agency interference in judicial affairs.
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