ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday took suo moto notice on the matter of the letter of judges of the Islamabad High Court against interference in the judicial matters.
The Supreme Court constituted a 7-member larger bench for the suo moto notice, with Chief Justice Justice Qazi Faez Isa leading the bench.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan will be part of the bench.
The larger bench will hear the suo moto notice case on Wednesday at 11:00 AM.
Over 300 lawyers on Sunday urged the Supreme Court (SC) to take notice of allegations of interference in the judiciary by the intelligence apparatus under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, adding that any government-led commission “would be bereft of necessary independence and powers” to probe the claims. Article 184(3) of the Constitution sets out the SC’s original jurisdiction and enables it to assume jurisdiction in matters involving a question of “public importance” with reference to the “enforcement of any of the fundamental rights” of Pakistan’s citizens.
On Tuesday, six Islamabad High Court 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 abduction and torture of their relatives as well as secret surveillance inside their homes.
