The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday announced its intention to organize a protest rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in solidarity with six judges of the Islamabad High Court, who recently accused intelligence agencies of interfering in judicial matters.
Barrister Gohar and Sher Afzal Marwat, speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, said that the rally would be held in Peshawar. Gohar expressed solidarity with the six justices of the Islamabad High Court who addressed a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, alleging coercion by national intelligence agencies.
Marwat added that the final details of the rally would be made public after consultations with the authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. PTI leaders asserted that the stance taken by the six IHC judges in their letter aligned with the party’s position.
This announcement followed a letter penned by six judges of the IHC to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), wherein they raised concerns about alleged interference and intimidation by intelligence agency operatives.
The letter, signed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Raffat Imtiaz, sought guidance from the SJC regarding the duty of judges to report and respond to attempts by the executive branch, including intelligence agencies, to interfere with their official functions.
In response to these developments, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) strongly condemned the undue interference of agencies in the judicial processes and personal lives of the IHC judges. The SCBA emphasized the need for serious action by the judiciary as an institution.
Meanwhile, Farooq H Naek, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), has called for a meeting of the Council’s executive committee on April 5, 2024, to discuss the letter penned by the IHC judges.
