Pakistan
AGP denies 'interference' in judiciary in reaction to Justice Sattar's letter
The judge wrote to the IHC chief justice about the alleged meddling of the security establishment in judicial matters
Islamabad: Denying the state agency’s involvement, Attorney-General of Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan on Tuesday said that no member of the security establishment had ‘directly’ contacted the judiciary.
“They don’t and can’t do it,” he said while responding to the letter written by Islamabad High Court Justice Babar Sattar to the IHC Chief Justice that he received a message to spare from the audio leak case.
In a video statement to the media, Usman expressed concerns over the impression created by Justice Sattar's letter to IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq.
He stressed that such allegations of interference not only cast doubt on the integrity of the judiciary but also strained the relationship between the judiciary and the administration.
"The government or any state body doesn’t interfere in the constitutional matters of the judiciary," the AG asserted and urged for a fair assessment of the situation devoid of any baseless insinuations.
The senior official clarified that the judge's reference in the letter was solely for a social media campaign.
Some moments after the AGP delivered a video statement, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the office of AGP requested the IHC for an in-camera briefing.
“Impression was created as if the matters of the court are being interfered with,” he added.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar said there would be no compromise on national security issues that needed to be discussed at appropriate forums through proper procedure.
He said the AGP was the representative of the State and his request for the in-camera briefing on a specific national security issue, had been taken out of context.
He pointed out the AGP had made the request just for the sake of national security.
Atta Tarar underlined the need of fully understand the sensitivity of national interest, adding that the Attorney General had already clarified his position on the issue. He said the national security issues should be discussed at the appropriate forums.
“If a matter needs discussion, the chief justice has the authority to call a full court,” he added. The minister expressed optimism that the institutions would collectively work for the national interests of the country.
Justice Sattar writes another letter to IHC CJ
Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Babar Sattar on Tuesday wrote another letter to Chief Justice Aamir Farooq regarding apparent interference in the judiciary.
In his letter to the CJ, Justice Sattar revealed that he received a message from a top official of the security establishment, urging him to back off from scrutinizing the surveillance methods.
The judge wrote, “I did not pay attention to such threatening tactics,”.
He also wrote that he did not pay attention to such threatening tactics, nor did he perceive that such messages posed a significant risk to the administration of justice.
Justice Sattar also pointed out that in cases related to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), a smear campaign based on indecency seemed to be aimed at undermining the judicial proceedings.
He said that in the audio leaks case, notices were issued by the court to secret and investigative agencies, relevant ministries, regulatory bodies, ISI, IB, FIA, regulatory bodies PTA, PEMRA.