Letter of 6 judges of Islamabad High Court to the Judicial Council against the alleged interference of intelligence agencies

6 judges of the Islamabad High Court have written a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council and demanded that we fully support the position of investigating Justice Retired Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, if the independence of the judiciary was being interfered with, then the independence of the judiciary would be undermined. Who were the doers?

6 judges of the Islamabad High Court have written a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council, in which they have said that Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui was dismissed on October 11, 2018 for reporting the interference of the intelligence agency. Termed Siddiqui’s dismissal as wrong and called him a retired judge.

The letter further states that Justice Retired Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui said that the allegations leveled once morest him should be investigated. So who undermined the independence of the judiciary? Who supported them? All should be held accountable so that this does not happen once more, there is no guidance in the Code of Conduct for Judges on how to report such a situation.

In the letter, the judges have sought guidance from the Supreme Judicial Council, asking what is the duty of a judge to report and respond to the actions of members of the executive including intelligence agencies. These actions are tantamount to interfering with the official work of a judge.

The letter states that interference in judicial affairs by intelligence officials and intimidation of judges reduces the independence of the judiciary. It can help to create mechanisms to protect freedom and determine mechanisms that reduce the independence of the judiciary.

The letter stated that it is important to know and determine whether there is a policy still in place from an executive branch of the state, the policy being implemented by intelligence officials who report to the executive branch, the bedroom of a high court judge. The recording was done by a hidden camera.