The federal cabinet approved the constitution of an inquiry commission over allegations of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges and appointed former chief justice of Pakistan Justice (retired) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani as its head, a declaration issued.
The commission — solely headed by the former CJP Jillani — would hold inquiry into the allegations levelled by the judges in a letter. Subsequently, the cabinet members also gave go-ahead to the terms of reference (ToRs) of the commission.
The inquiry commission would submit its report in 60 days.
According to an official statement issued following the huddle, the federal cabinet also denied the allegation of executive’s interference in judicial matters as levelled by the judges in the letter and termed them “inappropriate”.
The cabinet members were of the unanimous opinion that the Constitution enunciates the principle of separation of powers among the state institutions.
On the occasion, the PM reaffirmed his resolve for the independence of the judiciary and the principle of constitutional separation of powers.
He took the cabinet members into confidence about his consultation and meeting with the CJP after the letter.
The cabinet fully endorsed and supported the PM’s decisions and actions taken so far in this regard.
The IHC judges — Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Fafat Imtiaz — on March 26 sent a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), urging it to convene a judicial convention over the alleged interference of intelligence agencies in judicial affairs.
