Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa will again preside over the Supreme Court’s (SC) full court today to mull over the contents of the letter written by six judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in which they had alleged interference in their work by the country’s intelligence agencies, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

On Wednesday, 24News TV channel had quoted its sources as saying that even though the full court session continued for over two hours, it failed to reach any conclusion. In the meeting, the judges expressed their opinion about the letter, the sources added.

Six judges of the IHC had on Tuesday written a letter to the SJC, seeking its guidance on doing duty during ‘interference with free and fair justice delivery’.

Signed by Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Saman Rafat Imtiaz of the IHC, the March 25 letter was addressed to the CJP and Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar, as well as chief justices of the IHC and Peshawar High Court.

A proposal to initiate suo motu proceedings to probe the accusations was also discussed in the two-hour-long full court sitting, which ended on Wednesday without reaching a final decision.

Reacting to the claims made by the judges, all bar councils of the country called for a probe in order to ascertain the authenticity of these claims.  

The Pakistan Bar Council stressed the need for constituting a committee to investigate the allegations of interference with judicial affairs. In a statement, the council said the SJC was not the forum to investigate such allegations.

The CJP should form a committee consisting of three senior judges of the Supreme Court. The independence of the judiciary cannot be compromised, it said.

In a statement, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) said the allegations required “serious action by the judiciary as an institution”.

“Such issues should be addressed in a befitting manner and any apprehensions/misgivings which might be in the minds of honourable judges should be adequately addressed,” SCBA President Shahzad Shaukat said.

Meanwhile, a lawyer from Lahore had petitioned the Supreme Court for a high-powered inquiry commission to probe the allegations levelled by the IHC judges. Moved by Advocate Mian Dawood, the petition also pleaded that strict action be taken or directed against those found guilty of the misconduct in the probe.