LAHORE: The PM Office has been instructed by the Lahore High Court (LHC) to inform all military and civilian agencies, such as the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB), to refrain from contacting any members of the judiciary.
In a case concerning the intimidation of a judge of the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Sargodha, Justice Shahid Karim of the LHC issued a four-page written interim order on Saturday.
Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, the previous chief justice of the LHC, issued the suo motu notice in response to the ATC judge’s allegation. But once Khan was promoted to the Supreme Court, Justice Karim seized control of the proceedings.
In the previous hearing, Justice Karim gave the prime minister instructions to establish policies for the security agencies.
He asserted that higher authorities should be in charge of making sure that these kinds of situations are avoided.
No agency shall in the future “approach or contact” a judge, whether of the superior or subordinate judiciaries, or any member of their staff, according to the formal order.
The court further declared that all Punjabi police personnel should be given the same directives, which are to refrain from speaking with judges of either the subordinate or superior courts directly about the merits of any ongoing legal cases they may have.
“If any security or other measures are required for Punjab’s Anti-Terrorism Courts, they will only be implemented with the approval and consultation of the court’s knowledgeable judge.”
