The Supreme Court on Friday sought details of a press conference held by independent Senator Faisal Vawda as it heard a suo motu case taken on his anti-judiciary rhetoric. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and including Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan presided over the proceedings. On Wednesday, two senators Vawda and PML-N’s Talal Chaudhry had held separate pressers, questioning the Islam­abad High Court (IHC) judges’ claim that intelligence agencies had interfered in the judicial affairs. Without any evidence no one had the right to point a finger at the institutions, they added. In late March, six IHC judges out of a total strength of eight wrote a startling letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) members, regarding attempts to pressure judges through the abduction and torture of their relatives as well as secret surveillance inside their homes. Senator Vawda had said that the trend of targeting institutions must stop.

He had asked why Justice Sattar had raised his voice “one year after the alleged interference”, adding that if the IHC judges had any evidence they should come forward. “We will stand with you.” Vawda also said that he had requested the IHC for details of correspondence between then-IHC chief justice Athar Min­allah and Justice Sattar on the issue of the latter’s US green card, claiming that despite the passage of 15 days, he had not been provided the required details. The senator requested the SJC to take notice of the matter. In his press conference, Chaudhry said that a judge never writes a letter, rather he issues notice for any interference. It may be mentioned that the IHC registrar’s office had responded to Vawda on May 14 (Tuesday). Additional Registrar Ijaz Ahmed stated that information related to residency or citizenship is not included in the requirements for the appointment of a judge in the high court.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan