Tag: commission

  • PML-N leaders lambast the Faizabad Commission report

    PML-N leaders lambast the Faizabad Commission report

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has criticized the recently published report of the Faizabad Sit-in Inquiry Commission which gave a clean chit to the former Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General (retd.) Faiz Hamid and blamed the then-government for the entire event.

    Asif opined that the report was neither authentic nor reliable, saying, “Faizabad commission was a joke as General (retd) Hamid and former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa did not appear before the commission but only political workers like me did.”

    Questioning the reliability of the commission members, the defence minister said that they were not serious when he appeared before the commission.

    “The Faizabad inquiry commission must introspect about whether it fulfilled its duty or not,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Khurram Dastgir, a senior PML-N member remarked on GTV that Pakistan has its own parliament and that is the only constitutional and right way to investigate this matter.

    “Without accruing criminal liability, parliament must call all those actors to inquire the allegations,” said the former defence minister.

    “We shouldn’t leave this up to the annals of history but bring out the truth through parliament,” remarked Dastgir.

    Remember the Faizabad dharna? The 2017 Faizabad sit-in was organized by Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), led by Khadim Rizvi, on November 8 to protest amendments in the Elections Bill specifically the word ‘oath’ changed to ‘declaration’. On November 25, the government clashed with protestors after many attempts of ‘peace talks’, resulting in nationwide protests and the deaths of more than six people across Pakistan.

    Earlier, the Faizabad Dharna Inquiry Commission was formed after accusations were raised that the then Major General DG (Counter Intelligence), General Faiz (who later became D.G. ISI) was involved in the dharna to pressurise the government and to investigate the TLP 2017 sit-in. The Commission has finalized its report, seven years later, and has sent its report to the federal government. The report completely exonerates General (retd.) Faiz Hamid from any responsibilities in the incident.

    The three-member commission was headed by retired police officer Syed Akhtar Ali Shah and consisted of former IGP Islamabad Tahir Alam Khan and Additional Interior Secretary Khushal Khan.

    The report put the onus on the then-ruling PMLN government, for mishandling the right-wing religious party’s violent sit-in.

    The report said that the fallout from the Faizabad dharna was “more due to lack of courage of conviction of the leader handling the issue and in particular the government of Punjab”.

    The report stated that former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had “confirmed that no individual/organization was involved in organizing or facilitating Faizabad Dharna”.

    Moreover, Mr Ahsan Iqbal, Mr Zahid Hamid, Mian Shehbaz Sharif and the then Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief were also asked about the alleged role of agencies in supporting the march and they all denied such allegations.

  • ‘Kisi ka koyi aur agenda hai…woh chief justice bun jayein’, CJ Isa says won’t allow attack on judiciary

    ‘Kisi ka koyi aur agenda hai…woh chief justice bun jayein’, CJ Isa says won’t allow attack on judiciary

    Justice Qazi Faez Isa has said during the hearing of Supreme Court’s Suo moto notice taken on the Islamabad High Court judges’ letter that, “There is zero tolerance on the independence of judiciary.”

    The hearing is being conducted by a seven-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising six other judges — Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.

    CJP Isa remarked, “Judges must be sure that they are not in danger.” He also emphasized that he could not exercise contempt power in any other court because “the court which is in contempt will exercise this power itself.”

    Importantly, the lawyers had demanded a full court in the suo moto case to which CJP raised an important point that where were these lawyers when not a single meeting of the full court was conducted in four years.

    The chief justice said: “My colleagues and I will stand before any attack on the independence of judiciary.”

  • Imran Khan alleges judges conveyed feeling of helplessness to him

    Imran Khan alleges judges conveyed feeling of helplessness to him

    During an interaction with journalists in Adiala Jail today, former Prime Minister Imran Khan lauded the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges for exposing alleged interference in judicial matters and claiming judges would send him “messages of helplessness” in his cases.

    Khan’s statement came after the Supreme Court of Pakistan took a Suo Moto notice of the IHC Judges’ letter to the Supreme Judicial Council urging the body to probe the serious matter.

    A one-member inquiry commission was made by the federal cabinet however ex-CJP Tassaduq Hussain Jillani refused to head the said commission after he was chosen to lead it.

    Khan remarked, “I salute the judges for raising their voice and hope they will save the country.” He reiterated that everyone knew about the “regime change operation” in 2022 when he was ousted from the government through a no-confidence motion.

    The PTI founder gave his views about the Suo Moto notice by the SC and said, “It is a serious matter and should be heard by full court.” However, he remarked that a seven-member bench is better than the commission.

  • Judges were sent letters possibly containing anthrax: CJ Islamabad High Court

    Judges were sent letters possibly containing anthrax: CJ Islamabad High Court

    The Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court (IHC), Aamer Farooq has made the startling revelation on Tuesday afternoon that judges have been sent suspicious letters possibly containing anthrax spores, leading to a delay in the divisional bench’s hearing of the cipher case.

    The letters were sent by Resham, wife of Waqar Hussain. However, the envelopes were not marked by an address.

    The threatening letters prompted the judges to call on the Islamabad Inspector General of police. A team of experts is now present in the vicinity of the court.

    Reportedly, when the letter was opened, it contained a powder which caused intense burning in the eyes. The staff immediately disinfected their hands with sterilising liquid. A crossbones symbol was also stamped inside the letter.

    The powder has been handed over to the Anti Terrorism department for further investigation.

    Anthrax is a potentially fatal disease caused by the Bacillus Anthracis bacteria. It is commonly found in soil and infects domestic DND wild animals. Dangerous levels of exposure to the spores can cause sepsis in humans, inflammation of the spinal cord and even death if internal hemorrhaging begins.

  • PTI demands full court, rejects ‘like-minded’ judges bench

    PTI demands full court, rejects ‘like-minded’ judges bench

    In an echo to past objections, former ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has rejected the constitution of a seven-member bench led by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to investigate the six judges’ letter documenting alleged interference by intelligence agencies in judicial matters.

    At a press conference, former Chief Minister of Gligit-Baltistan Khalid Khurshid along with the party’s central information secretary Raoof Hasan declared that PTI would not accept the legitimacy of the seven-member bench terming it “like-minded judges” that was made at the behest of the CJP to get a decision of their choice.

    He demanded that a full court be constituted to investigate the serious allegations levelled by the six IHC judges and the proceedings should be telecast live. Raoof also added that judges should be allowed to tell their stories in a judicial conference as well.

    He lauded ex-CJP Tasadduq Hussain Jillani’s decision to recuse himself from the inquiry commission and congratulated the legal fraternity for their principled stance. He also commented that the IHC judges demonstrated great courage by writing the letter.

  • Tasadduq passes the buck back to the Supreme Court

    Tasadduq passes the buck back to the Supreme Court

    Former Chief Justice Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jillani on April 1 recused himself from heading the “inquiry committee” that was approved by the Federal Cabinet regarding the Islamabad High Court judges’ letter.

    Jillani’s letter was written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with the subject “One Man Inquiry Commission.”
    Last week, on Tuesday, six judges of IHC wrote an explosive letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) alleging blatant interference of intelligence agencies in judicial matters.

    The very next day, calls for investigations began to gain ground which led to CJP Qazi Faez Isa holding a full court meeting of the Supreme Court judges.

    On Thursday, the PM met with CJP and an inquiry commission was made to probe into the matter. The Federal Cabinet approved and appointed Tassaduq Jillani as the commission head on Saturday.

    However, more than 300 lawyers wrote a joint letter to the Supreme Court urging them to take Suo Moto initiative in the judges’ allegations.

    The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu notice of the IHC judges’ letter while the former CJP Jillani also refused to head the one-man inquiry commission citing that the letter referenced the top court to intervene so it would be “violative of judicial propriety” for him to inquire into a matter which “may fall within the jurisdiction of a constitutional body which is the SJC or the Supreme Court itself”

  • ‘You’re asking the cat who drank the cream’; Fawad Chaudhry jokes about PM’s inquiry commission

    ‘You’re asking the cat who drank the cream’; Fawad Chaudhry jokes about PM’s inquiry commission

    Former federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has quipped that the commission to investigate the six judges’ letter is akin to “asking a cat to investigate who has drank the milk.”

    Chaudhry had been detained by authorities on graft charges since November 2023. His office page on X, formerly Twitter, posted the video of him being presented to the court for a hearing where he gave the humorous remarks about the inquiry commission.

    On Tuesday, six judges of Islamabad High Court (IHC) wrote an explosive letter to Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) alleging egregious meddling by the executive, including spy agencies, in judicial affairs. Following this, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

    It was decided that the PM would constitute an inquiry commission headed by a retired judge to probe into the allegations levelled against intelligence agencies.

  • No audio leak commission: Supreme Court suspends govt notification

    No audio leak commission: Supreme Court suspends govt notification

    In a significant development, the Supreme Court issued an order on Friday, suspending the operation of the federal government’s notification regarding the constitution of a judicial panel to investigate audio leaks which included alleged calls made to judges or by their families, that have emerged on social media over the past few months.

    The top court also prohibited the commission from conducting further proceedings.

    Last week, the federal government formed the judicial commission to probe leaked audio clips allegedly involving some current and former members of the superior judiciary and their family members to determine their “veracity” and “impact on the independence of the judiciary”.

    The government said the audio leaks raised serious apprehensions about the independence of the judiciary in the public interest.