Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has written a seven-point letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa. He has asked Justice Isa to punish those who were subverting the Constitution. Imran was referring to the allegations made by six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges about interference in judicial affairs by intelligence agencies. It bears mention here that the IHC judges had written to CJP informing him about interference in their work by Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) officers.
A seven-judge Bench had started the hearings in the matter and Justice Isa had indicated that he may constitute a larger Bench. In their letters, the judges had alleged that pressure was brought upon them by threats through abduction and torture of relatives, as also secret surveillance inside their homes. The allegations had led to a serious debate regarding the stressful environment the judges worked in.
The judges had written the letters after a high court judge dismissed earlier had been exonerated of all the charges. The dismissed judge had made serious allegations against ISI interference in the working of the courts. The six IHC judges (out of eight) had said that the ISI operatives used to pressurize judges for giving “tailored judgements” against Imran Khan.
In his letter, Imran said it was ironical that high court judges, who dispensed justice to common citizens, were themselves seeking it. “Those armed with weapons continue to overpower those armed with the pen,” Imran wrote referring to the intelligence agencies. The letter has been posted on the official X (formerly Twitter) handle @ImranKhanPTI.
Imran emphasized that the people’s confidence in judiciary of Pakistan will be demolished it the Supreme Court failed to bring the culprits to book. The rule of law had fallen to a “new low”, Imran wrote, adding this has caused “emergence of the law of the jungle” where might is right prevails.
One point the PTI chief made was regarding clean chit to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in Toshakhana case. He also wrote that conduct of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chief Lt Gen (Retd) Nazir Ahmed Butt for “dishonesty, discrimination and double standards”.
Mentioning the Bahawalnagar incident, Imran wrote that it should serve an an “eye opener on the lopsided state of uniformed vigilante justice’’ in the country. In this incident, some Army personnel had beaten up policemen for acting against a colleague for possession of an illegal firearm.
Raising another issue before the CJP, Imran said he believed that 90 per cent of people incarcerated for May 9 protests were “peaceful and unarmed protestors’’. A petition filed on May 25 calling for an “independent, transparent and thorough inquiry to ascertain facts’’ pertaining to May 9 violence has been pending in the apex court. The hearing in this petition should be taken up on priority in the interest of “complete justice”.
Imran also wrote that massive allegations regarding rigging in February 8 elections had led to a spate of petitions being filed. The Supreme Court should itself take up and ensure that these petitions on the conduct of polls should also be decided on priority.
“Inaction on your part and that of the SC in the aforementioned matters of grave importance would exacerbate the constitutional crisis that the country is already faced with and push it closer and closer to the abyss,” the former PM said.`Now is the time for you to prove whether your declared belief in the principles and values, and your proclamation of the supremacy of the Constitution, are for real or were mere hollow rhetoric. The entire nation is looking at you accordingly.”
