Tag: Supreme Court

  • First acknowledge past mistakes, SC writes to British HC

    First acknowledge past mistakes, SC writes to British HC

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan penned a letter to the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Pakistan Jane Marriott, defending the top court rulings including stripping the PTI of its symbol while reminding her of past British injustices.

    “The matter was resolved in just 12 days by the Supreme Court, and general elections were held throughout Pakistan on 8 February 2024; a copy of the decision is attached as ‘A’,” read the letter by SC.

    It then went on to defend the SC ruling in which a political party was stripped of its electoral symbol days before the election, “To ensure compliance with this democratic principle the law stipulates that if a political party does not hold intra-party elections, then it would not be eligible for an election symbol.”

    It further criticised the British for its complicity in “violent undemocratic mistakes” such as overthrowing the elected democratic government of Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953, to capture Iranian oil.

    The letter also mentioned the British role in the creation of a settler-colonial state Israel and urged the UK commissioner to acknowledge its past mistakes.

  • Dubai Leaks: Justice Mansoor says he didn’t get possession of UAE property

    Dubai Leaks: Justice Mansoor says he didn’t get possession of UAE property

    Supreme Court’s Justice Mansoor Ali Shah has clarified his position regarding his name in the Dubai Leaks scandal, stating that he didn’t buy the Dubai property due to loss of investment there, The News reported on Saturday.

    Dubai Unlocked — a six-month investigative project with reporters from 74 media outlets in 58 countries — in which 17,000 Pakistanis were made public who owned properties in the city with a combined value of around $11 billion.

    Among the Pakistanis listed in the property leaks are President Asif Ali Zardari’s three children, Hussain Nawaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s wife, Sharjeel Memon and family members, Senator Faisal Vawda, Farah Gogi, Sher Afzal Marwat, four MNAs and half a dozen MPAs from the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies.

    Justice Mansoor of SC’s name also appeared on the list for owning a property in the Maison Residence Collection in the downtown Jabal Ali area of Dubai.

    Justice, in his defence, acknowledged having made the investment as a lawyer in 2009 but it failed to materialise due to the project not being completed and he lost his investments.

    “My tax filings are done by AF Ferguson & Co., Lahore and if you desire, I can connect you with them for confirmation of the above,” the judge’s response read.

  • Supreme Court to hear Suo Moto against Faisal Vawda today

    Supreme Court to hear Suo Moto against Faisal Vawda today

    The Supreme Court, on 17 May, will hear the suo moto case against independent Senator Faisal Vawda for his verbal attack against judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

    The case will be heard by a three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan.

    Earlier, Vawda held a press conference in which he strongly criticised the IHC judges who penned the explosive letter a few weeks back to the Supreme Judicial Council alleging interference of intelligence agencies in judicial affairs.

    Faisal Vawda said that institutions are being attacked.

    “Stop targeting the institutions, enough is enough. If there is any interference by institutions, then provide evidence and we will stand together [against it],” said Vawda.

    IHC also responded to the Senator’s remarks saying that the rules do not dictate that a High Court judge needs to renounce foreign residency or citizenship.

  • Who leaked Khan’s image from Supreme Court?

    Who leaked Khan’s image from Supreme Court?

    The Supreme Court (SC) has started an investigation after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) released an image of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from today’s hearing in the National Accountability Bruea (NAB) amendments case.

    The picture appears to have been snapped during today’s hearing when the former Prime Minister appeared before SC via video link in the case related to changes in NAB laws.

    The bench comprises Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi.

    Imran Khan is currently in Adiala jail on multiple sentences.

    The photo is the first image taken after Imran’s arrest from Zaman Park in Toshakhana reference last year.

    The image released by PTI showed that Imran Khan is sitting on the chair wearing a blue shirt with the sleeves folded.

  • CJP Isa says has received no complaints of ‘interference’ in judiciary

    CJP Isa says has received no complaints of ‘interference’ in judiciary

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa stated on Thursday that he did not receive any complaints of interference in the judiciary by any High Court judge.

    “Since I have been Chief Justice [of the Supreme Court of Pakistan], I have not received a single complaint from any high court judge that there has been any interference in their work,” Justice Isa said while speaking at Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA).

    Isa also stated that if there were any complaints of meddling then it would have happened before his tenure.

    “So, this is a thing to bear in mind that interference is not acceptable but at the same time nothing has been reported to me during … my watch,” said CJP Isa.

    The statement comes after six judges of Islamabad High Court (IHC) last month wrote a shocking letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) alleging blatant interference by intelligence agencies in judicial matters.

  • Issue of missing person can’t be solved overnight, says law minister

    Issue of missing person can’t be solved overnight, says law minister

    Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Tuesday, in a press conference in Islamabad, that missing persons were involved in the Gwadar attack. He highlighted the struggle of the government to resolve the issue, but also emphasised that the problem can’t be resolved overnight.

    He also said that the issue of missing persons in Pakistan is closely linked with terrorism.

    Tarar disclosed that the Supreme Court (SC) has taken notice of the problem and has sent over 10,000 cases to the commission responsible for investigating missing persons. He said they’ve successfully resolved approximately 8,000 of these cases.

    During the press conference, he stressed that the government is aware of its responsibility on the issue and is making efforts to resolve it. He also stated that earlier in 2022, the coalition government formed a committee to handle the issue.

    Under the directive of the Prime Minister, efforts to address missing persons cases have been reignited, he added.

  • Judges’ letter: Justice Yahya Afridi recuses from suo moto case

    Judges’ letter: Justice Yahya Afridi recuses from suo moto case

    Justice Yahya Afridi of the Supreme Court has withdrawn himself from the suo motu case that the apex court took up after receiving a letter from Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges, alleging complaints about intelligence agencies interfering in judicial matters.

    Justice Afridi, who was part of the seven-member bench hearing the case, added his recusal in a note attached to the written order issued after the first hearing.

    The judge said the judges should consider the issues in the letter from the IHC judges according to the code of conduct of the Supreme Judicial Council.
    “High Courts are independent courts under the Constitution. Article 184/3 should not be invoked on independence of high courts,” Justice Yahya maintained.
    The seven-member bench conducting the hearing of suo motu case is headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprised 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.

  • CTD makes ‘progress’ in threatening letters case

    CTD makes ‘progress’ in threatening letters case

    The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) is getting closer to uncovering the person behind the threatening letters sent to judges of the Supreme Court and various high courts, Geo News reported on Monday.

    Geo sources say that CTD has been actively following key developments in the investigation since they received the forensic report on the handwriting in the letters.

    The investigation department matched the letters written to judges in the Supreme Court, Islamabad, and Lahore High Courts. According to forensic reports, the same person wrote the letters to judges in all three courts under the names Resham, Reshaman, and Gulshad Khatun. The letters were also sent through the same post office.

    “There is a single mastermind behind sending threatening letters to judges,” sources within CTD told Geo News, adding that arsenic found in the letters to the judges was also bought by the same person.

  • Tehreek e Namoos Pakistan sends threatening letters to SC

    Tehreek e Namoos Pakistan sends threatening letters to SC

    After arriving at the doorsteps of Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges, letters containing suspicious powdery substance and threatening messages have been sent to the four Supreme Court (SC) judges – including Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.

    Importantly, on the same day four judges of Lahore High Court received the threatening letter as well containing suspicious powdery substance.

    The suspicious powder was suspected to be anthrax.

    The letter sent to the SC jurists read, “You people at the Supreme court of Pakistan are pretending to do justice since the inception of this country. Year after year this country is pluming into chaos, poverty, corruption and disorder. SCP was supposed to be the final and ultimate check for all that is wrong in our holy country instead it became very part of the problem and rescuer of evil.”

    It further said, “Judges, Generals and politicians are the curse and disease of motherland. We Tehreek e Namoos e Pakistan say NO More…”

    Tehreek e Namoos Pakistan (TNP) is a relatively new militant group whose name emerged once before last year. It was when a team of the Wild Life Department discovered explosives and maps related to sensitive installations of the Red Zone at Margalla hills, on Trail 5 of Islamabad, September 17 2023.

  • Did Gen (r) Faiz Hameed plans TLP’s Faizabad sit-in?

    Did Gen (r) Faiz Hameed plans TLP’s Faizabad sit-in?

    The commission set up to probe the Faizabad sit-in case has completed its report and is ready to submit it to the government and other authorities at any time.

    One of the members connected to the commission told The News that the investigation in the case is already complete and the commission can submit its report to relevant authorities soon.

    “It will be submitted to the government and other authorities at any time,” the source said.

    The commission interviewed many individuals, including some high profile persons like the then DG (C) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and former ISI chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed, the then prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the then interior and defence ministers Ahsan Iqbal and Khawaja Aasif respectively and concerned senior police and civil administration officials of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

    The commission will focus on figuring out what the former ISI chief’s role was. Its report will reveal if Hameed was responsible for the Faizabad sit-in.

    The government formed the commission on the instructions of the Supreme Court (SC) to investigate who was involved in the Faizabad sit-in. The commission investigated who had planned, financed, and supported a sit-in at Islamabad’s Faizabad area six years ago.