Arish Hayat
Lahore:Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad on Friday said he has received complaints and letters — many verbally — of interference in judicial matters by “institutions”.
Addressing an event in Rawalpindi, Justice Ahmad asserted, “I have full faith that this interference of the establishment in the judiciary will come to its end very soon.”
He explained he was saying so not just because it was “part of my faith but also includes my experience”.
“To get rid of the establishment’s interference, we have to face it with bravery, courage and without any fear, and with the belief that this interference, God-willing, will end soon,” the chief justice said.
“We receive letters, complaints, and oral complaints that interference is being done in the judiciary in which a few institutions — naming them is not appropriate — are involved,” Justice Ahmad said.
He added he was glad that the judiciary was “fulfilling its responsibilities without any fear or greed”.
“We have received other such complaints as well. Many complaints are not in written [form] as they say evidence would be demanded, which would be difficult to provide,” the LHC top judge said.
Referring to recent claims of a sessions judge of a Sargodha Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) about interference in judicial matters by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Justice Ahmad said the judge in his complaint had stated he was not afraid of any of the incidents he allegedly faced.
“I am ready for any sacrifice that I might have to make but I would not do injustice to anyone,” Justice Ahmad quoted the ATC judge as saying.
Addressing his subordinate judges, he said, “Temporary worries do come but you have to face them eye to eye and not be a target of any of their blackmailing. Do not be hesitant to make any kind of sacrifice.”
Praising former LHC chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry for being the “only judge to initiate efforts against a military dictator”, he recalled that the lawyers’ movement back then resulted in his restoration as a judge.
Justice Ahmad highlighted that Pakistan was currently “going through one of the longest periods of a civil government”, adding that the 2007 lawyers’ movement “closed the doors for martial law forever”.
The judge urged lawmakers to play their role in improving the country, noting that positions were a temporary thing.
