Tag: intelligence agencies

  • LHC orders PM office to stop intelligence agencies from contacting judges

    LHC orders PM office to stop intelligence agencies from contacting judges

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to instruct all intelligence agencies not to contact any member of the judiciary.

    Justice Shahid Karim issued a four-page written interim order on Saturday in the Sargodha’s ATC judge harassment case.

    On June 12, the LHC Chief Justice took notice of the incident based on the complaint of District & Sessions Judge (D&SJ) Muhammad Abbas, who said he faced harassment from an ISI official because he refused to meet in his chambers.

    The suo motu notice was taken by former LHC chief justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan on the ATC judge’s complaint. However, Justice Karim took over the proceedings after Shahzad Ahmad’s elevation to the Supreme Court.

    The written order states that no agency should “approach or contact” a judge, whether of the superior or subordinate judiciary, or any member of their staff in the future.

    Justice Karim also said that the judges of ATC across Punjab are directed to download a call recording application to record all the calls they receive.

  • Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani says either rule of law or rule of agencies can take place

    Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani says either rule of law or rule of agencies can take place

    Islamabad High Court (IHC) senior judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on Monday strongly criticised intelligence agencies due to their alleged role in forced abductions.

    “The country will either be run as per the law or the whims of agencies,” Justice Kayani said.

    The Court held a hearing regarding the recovery of Kashmiri poet Ahmed Farhad Shah, abducted from his home last week. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had called on authorities for his immediate release.

    A petition was filed by Shah’s wife in the IHC last Wednesday, requesting that he be found and produced before the court and to identify, investigate and prosecute those responsible for his disappearance.

    In a notable development, the petitioner filed a separate plea on Saturday to withdraw the main petition after officials from Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) contacted Shah’s wife and assured her that the poet would be released on Saturday night.

    Petitioner’s legal representation include Advocates Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha. Mazari said that she received a Whatsapp call from Shah’s number on May 17 asking them to withdraw their petition but since he did not return back, “So we are not withdrawing the application.”

    “I want the man (Shah) from the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence). You should inform the DG (director general) ISI [Nadeem Anjum] that the man should be produced at any cost. Remove the label from yourself that you abduct [people],” said the judge to SSP Zafar.

    Justice Kayani went on to say “The sector commander [ISI] is not living on the moon, what is his status?”

    Judge asked the defence ministry official whether any of his relatives were ever abducted to which he said no, to which the judge said: “That’s why you don’t understand. Ask the feelings of those whose [relatives] are abducted.”

    When AAG Duggal requested an extension of the hearing because “the ISI has said they do not have him,” the judge replied, “They send messages on one hand and now they are saying we don’t have him.”

  • ‘Our intelligence agencies are making people feel threatened’: Khan

    ‘Our intelligence agencies are making people feel threatened’: Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that intelligence agencies should reconsider what they are engaging in.

    “Our intelligence agencies should think about what they are engaging in. They are making people feel threatened,” he said. Addressing the agencies during an interview on Channel 92, the former Prime Minister said that “political engineering” was not in their job description and that they were tasked to keep the country safe.

    Khan claimed that state secrets have been leaked to the country’s enemies, citing an alleged breach of the secure line at Prime Minister’s Office.

    “Secrets of the state have been leaked to our enemies. There has been a violation of the security line of the Prime Minister’s Office. The security agencies must be questioned about who is responsible for this,” he said during an interview with a private television channel.

    ‘They [government] should first ask the Foreign Office about the cipher’s master copy’: Khan

    Khan said that the master copy of the infamous cipher is lying in the Foreign Office.

    “They [government] should first ask the Foreign Office about the cipher’s master copy,” the former premier stated, adding that the master copy first arrives at the FO and its copies are then sent to the Prime Minister’s house, president, and the chief of army staff.

    “What cipher are they talking about which has been stolen?” Khan questioned the government, stressing that they “initially lied” that there was no cipher.

    He added that President Arif Alvi sent the cipher’s copy to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and that his party had sent one copy to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser.

    ‘No one will be able to guess what will happen, what we’ll do’: Khan

    “We have planned more events after this. No one will be able to guess what will happen, what we’ll do. [I’ve] just shared the details with four to five closest people,” he said.

    “Our discussions get leaked, our phones get taped. It seems like I’m a traitor,” the former premier said, claiming that his servants are being paid to leak information.

  • ‘Pakistan provided more security to New Zealand’s team than their armed forces combined’: Sheikh Rasheed

    ‘Pakistan provided more security to New Zealand’s team than their armed forces combined’: Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Monday commented that Pakistan tasked more security personnel to ensure the safety of the New Zealand cricket team than their armed forces combined.

    Sheikh Rasheed’s comments come after New Zealand decided to unilaterally abandon the Pakistan series at the eleventh hour.

    Referring to the five-nation intelligence report on the basis of which the New Zealand government called the tour off, Rasheed questioned, “Where were these five countries that issued the threat alert when the security experts were visiting Pakistan and the team was practising on the same ground?”

    Rasheed informed the media that Pakistani intelligence agencies are one of the strongest agencies in the world.

    Responding to the Opposition’s criticism on the cricket series being cancelled, the minister said: “Don’t throw stones at others while living in a glasshouse. A day will come when all international teams will come to play in Pakistan.”

  • Conspiracy behind NZ tour cancellation, says Sheikh Rasheed

    Conspiracy behind NZ tour cancellation, says Sheikh Rasheed

    Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed in a press conference said, “The New Zealand (NZ)authorities do not have substantive proof of threat in Pakistan.”

    “New Zealand took a unilateral decision to cancel the Pakistan tour despite the country’s tight security arrangements for the team,” said Rasheed.

    The interior minister said NZ team’s security in-charge spoke to government officials in the morning and informed them of a threat. When the officials asked for further details, the NZ security in-charge “did not have any”, he added.

    Pakistan had deployed commandos from Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group (SSG), soldiers, and 4,000 policemen for the matches in Rawalpindi, Sheikh Rasheed said.

    “We also tried to convince them to play the match without spectators. But they did not agree to it,” he disclosed.

    “None of our intelligence agencies, which are among the best in the world, have any information about a threat. Pakistan is playing a major role in the region and they do not want us to prosper.”

    Indian media was “defaming Pakistan”, said the interior minister, adding that its designs would be foiled.

    “We have sacrificed before and peace will prevail here at all costs,” he stressed.

    Following this, the Pakistani officials spoke to Prime Minister Imran Khan — who is currently in Tajikistan.

    “The prime minister was briefed on the matter. He then called New Zealand Prime Minister [Jacinda Ardern] and assured her that there was no security threat,” the interior minister said.

    However, Ardern said the NZ government had “received intelligence that the team could be attacked when it steps out to go to the stadium”, Sheikh Rasheed added.

    “It is their decision. We had deployed heavy security for the team. Pakistan is a peace promoter in the world. And this tour was cancelled through a conspiracy. It is their (NZ’s) problem and what they decide.”