Supreme Court takes sou motu notice of Faisal Vawda’s press conference

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday took suo motu notice of Senator Faisal Vawda’s fiery press conference, wherein he came hard on the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges over their letter alleging spy agencies of interference in judicial matters.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, comprising Justice Irfan Saadat and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, will hear the case tomorrow (Friday).

Addressing a press conference a day ago, Faisal Vawda said that targeting institutions should stop, adding that judges should present evidence in court if there is any interference by institutions in judicial matters.

The senator said that if the judges give evidence in this regard, he will stand by them. The former PTI leader also appealed to the Supreme Judicial Council to intervene in the matter.

On May 14, IHC Justice Babar Sattar accused “top officials of the security establishment” of interfering in judicial affairs.

He expressed his concern in a letter to IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq, saying he was given a message to withdraw from the audio leak case.

In Writ Petition 2758/2023, the court has issued notices to the concerned ministries of the federal government and the heads of intelligence and investigative agencies, including ISI, IB, and FIA, besides statutory bodies like PTA and PEMRA.

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Justice Sattar wrote that the question before the court is whether there is any legal system that allows surveillance of citizens.

Justice Sattar claimed that at some point during the hearing of the case, “I was sent messages from top officials of the security establishment asking me to ‘back off'” from extensive checks on presence and surveillance procedures.

Earlier, six IHC judges—Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, Justice Tariq Mahmood Jehangiri, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, and Justice Saman Rifat Imtiaz—sent a letter to the chief justice, who also chairs the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

The judges asked the council for guidance on “interference” by intelligence agencies in judicial matters and a judge’s duty to report such interference or threats.