Chief Justice Aamer Farooq of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) called a full court meeting for Tuesday afternoon (today) in order to discuss a letter that six judges had addressed to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), according to sources on Monday.
The conference, slated for 2:30 p.m., was reportedly convened at the last minute to provide the judges till April 22 to give their recommendations on the subject. All of the justices of the high court, along with two district and sessions judges from Islamabad, were asked for their suggestions.
Six IHC justices wrote to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) last month to draw attention to purported agency meddling in judicial matters, including efforts to exert pressure on judges and spy them covertly in their residences.
Signed by Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Saman Rafat Imtiaz, the IHC Justices, the letter was dated March 25 and detailed seven claimed instances of intervention and intimidation by intelligence officers.
The open letter, copies of which were sent to all judges of the supreme court, proposed holding a judicial conference to address the subversion of judicial independence by intelligence officers interfering with court operations and intimidating judges.
In response, the Supreme Court requested opinions on the letter from all high court judges and began suo motu proceedings.
As instructed by the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of the IHC asked the judges to submit their recommendations by Monday.
