Preserving Judicial Independence: A Call to Action for Pakistan’s Judiciary

”Wafadari mein sheikh-o-barhaman ki azmaish hai”
– Mirza Ghalib

Yesterday, one witnessed a sorry spectacle in the Pakistan Supreme Court.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been incarcerated in jail by the Pakistan Establishment (meaning its all-powerful army) since August last year on flimsy charges, and his name is not even allowed to be mentioned by the Pakistan media, though he appears to have the support of about 90% of the people of Pakistan (as all opinion polls indicate).

However, he was allowed to appear in the Supreme Court, though only online and virtually. Though he was shown on the screen for a very short while in light blue garments, one could not hear his voice, and his image soon disappeared, and the live streaming stopped, apparently on the Chief Justice’s command.

When a lawyer in court asked that the live streaming showing Imran Khan be restarted, the Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa said to him, ”Shut up”.

This is the extent to which Pakistan’s top judicial functionary has shamelessly surrendered himself before the Establishment and become its toady. Even showing Imran Khan on the screen and hearing his voice gives him the shivers.

One is sad to see the plight of Pakistan’s judiciary. Judges take an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect the liberties of the people, e.g., the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, etc. (mentioned in Articles 8 to 28 of Pakistan’s Constitution).

However, what one sees in Pakistan is judges shamelessly ignoring this oath and turning a blind eye to the large-scale violation of human rights and civil liberties in Pakistan, and the reign of terror unleashed on its people by Pakistan’s Gestapo-type security agencies, which abducted and imprisoned about 14,000 people on trumped-up charges after the events of 9th May 2023, where they are still rotting in inhuman conditions.

Instead of hearing the bail applications of such people, Qazi Faez Isa lists and hears old cases in which few people are really interested, e.g., the fairness of Bhutto’s trial (although Bhutto died 45 years ago), and the old Faizabad dharna case.

It seems CJP Qazi Faez Isa is more fond of hearing cases of dead people rather than living ones!

Six Judges of the Islamabad High Court recently sent an explosive letter to the CJP and members of Pakistan’s Supreme Judicial Council complaining of interference by the security agencies in their functioning.

What is the remedy for the woes of Pakistan’s judiciary? To my mind, there is only one: to have a solid Chief Justice of Pakistan, like Justice Athar Minallah, who refuses to surrender to executive pressure or inducements, no matter what the cost.

The Chief Justice of the country is the kingpin of the entire judiciary. If he is made of strong metal, no one, not even the army, can dare to interfere with the functioning and independence of Judges.

I have often said in several video interviews that if I were the Chief Justice of Pakistan, I would solve the problem in 24 hours.

I would send a strong letter to the army chief and chief of the ISI stating that unless they give a solemn assurance and guarantee that interference in judicial functioning, and harassment and threats to judges, would be immediately stopped, I am going to close down all courts in Pakistan, from the highest to the lowest level because there is no point in the functioning of the courts if they are not independent.

Their judges getting threats, and their orders not obeyed (e.g., the Supreme Court’s order that elections to the Punjab Legislative Assembly must be held on 14th May 2023– an order which was promptly thrown into the dustbin). Courts are not meant to perform dramas.

These conditions make it impossible for the judiciary to function effectively and uphold the rule of law. Without the assurance of independence and respect for their decisions, the courts become mere puppets of external influences, undermining the very foundation of justice in the country.

Such a letter would soon bring the army authorities to their senses. But Qazi Faez Isa will never do this. He is totally servile to the Pakistan Establishment and does its bidding. For instance, by a flagrantly dishonest judgment, he deprived the PTI of its party symbol, so as to damage its election prospects.

The truth is that Qazi Faez Isa is neither a Qazi nor Faez nor Isa, as I have explained here.

In one audio show, a Pakistani said to me that since I do not live in Pakistan, I can say all this because I do not have to fear the army’s guns.

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I replied by giving the example of a historical confrontation which actually happened in the year 1490 between Qazi Sirajuddin, Qazi-e-Subah of Bengal, and Sultan Ghiyasuddin, the Sultan of Bengal.

The Qazi summoned the Sultan, on a complaint of a poor widow that her son had been accidentally wounded by an arrow of the Sultan while he was practicing archery. The Qazi did justice, well knowing that the Sultan could at any time cut off his head for what he may regard as gross impertinence.

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