Allegations of IHC judges: Tassaduq Jillani refuses to chair inquiry commission

Islamabad: Justice (Retired) Tasaaduq Hussain Jillani resigned as the head of the inquiry commission on the allegations of the judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

According to the details, this development came shortly after Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa took suo motu notice of the letter of six judges and constituted a seven-member larger bench.

It is pertinent to note that on March 30, the approval was given to form a one-member inquiry commission into the allegations against the judges of the Islamabad High Court, and Justice (retd) Tassaduq Jilani was appointed as the head of the commission.

In the declaration issued after the meeting of the Federal Cabinet, it was said that the meeting discussed in detail the contents of the letter written by six honorable judges of the IHC on March 25, 2024.

The meeting was told that according to the full court declaration of the Supreme Court, the formation of an inquiry commission was proposed in the meeting of the Chief Justice of Pakistan with the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Later, the head of the commission, Justice Retired Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, talking to a private news channel said that the commission was asked to be chaired by the government, and the Terms of Reference (TORs) submitted by the government have been carefully reviewed. And I have agreed to head the commission.

Earlier, the Prime Minister had assured the Chief Justice to set up a Judicial Commission with the approval of the Cabinet.

It should be noted that on March 26, six judges of the IHC wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) regarding the alleged interference and pressure of intelligence agencies in the work of judges.

It was written on behalf of Islamabad High Court Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz.

The letter said that we, as judges of the Islamabad High Court, seek guidance from the SJC regarding interference in the work of judges by executive members, including secret agencies, and putting pressure on judges.

It was further stated that this matter came up as a result of the decision of the Supreme Court in which the dismissal of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui by the Supreme Court in the year 2018 was declared invalid and illegal and said that Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui will be considered retired.

A two-hour long full court session chaired by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to review the allegations leveled in the letter written by the judges of the IHC against the intelligence agencies on March 27 ended without any final decision.

The next day, March 28, there was a meeting between CJP and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the issue of the letter of six judges of Islamabad High Court.

On the same day, the federal government had announced to conduct an inquiry on the issue of the letter of the judges of the High Court.

While holding a press conference with Attorney General Anwar Mansoor in Islamabad, Azam Nazir Tarar said that the Prime Minister had a meeting with the Chief Justice and senior judges which lasted for one and a half hours and the meeting took place in a very pleasant atmosphere.

He said that the government has decided to investigate the issue of the letter while the Chief Justice has also agreed to form an inquiry commission.

He added that the meeting of the federal cabinet will be held tomorrow, the prime minister will put the matter of the letter before the cabinet. A commission under the Commission of Inquiry Act will be formed in the cabinet meeting, while a neutral person will head the inquiry commission.