The threatening letters have been received by the judges in the wake of the letters penned last week by six judges of the IHC to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), expressing their concerns about alleged meddling by intelligence agencies in the judicial affairs. This incident has raised a question mark on the claims of judicial independence rather highlighted external influence.
As per judicial sources, the two judges’ staff after opening the letters found powder inside. Afterwards they experienced burning sensations in their eyes.
Also IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq has confirmed they had received the threatening letters. The CJ stated that the incident contributed to delays in the day's hearings. After the incident, experts from the Islamabad Police have arrived at the IHC to examine the suspicious powder.
Purportedly, it was revealed, the letters were written by a woman named Resham, wife of Waqar Hussain. Then the Inspector General of Islamabad Police and the Deputy Inspector General of Security were summoned to address the issue urgently.
Moreover, the threatening letters have been handed over to the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) for further probe.
It is pertinent to mention that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa yesterday took suo motu notice of the letter written by the IHC judges against the alleged interference of the intelligence agencies in judicial matters and formed a seven-member larger bench to hear the matter.
The seven-member larger bench of the Supreme Court (SC), headed by the CJP, will hear the suo motu notice on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Khan Afridi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Masarrat Hilali, and Justice Naeem Akhtar will be part of the bench.
Earlier on Saturday, the federal cabinet approved the formation of an inquiry commission, headed by Justice (retd) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, to probe the letter of the IHC judges against the alleged interference of the intelligence agencies in judicial matters. However, the former judge recused himself from the commission.
