When the new Shehbaz Sharif-led government took over after the February 2024 elections in Pakistan, peace and quiet were not expected. But a recent letter by six senior Islamabad High Court judges has come as a bombshell.
The contents were scary beyond imagination. The judges complained about interference and intimidation from the Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, especially in cases related to Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party. Further, the letter alleged the abduction of a judge’s relative, video bugging of another’s drawing room and bedroom, and much more. The letter’s intent was to seek guidance from the Supreme Court regarding these blatant interventions from the state’s intelligence agency.
The controversy caused by the letter is not going to die down anytime soon and is bound to add to the existing political discomfort. What’s more concerning, however, is the longer-term impact. Both the establishment and the Supreme Court have thrown the six judges under the bus for their respective reasons.
Instead of hearing the judges out, the Supreme Court initially tried to put a temporary lid on the matter by appointing a single-judge commission to meet with them and hear their concerns. The establishment, meanwhile, seems to have unleashed its media bloodhounds to take down the judges. For instance, journalist Gharida Farooqi, known for her pro-establishment stance, has been trying to sow the seeds of distrust amongst the public by discrediting the judges. She has raised questions about one judge’s family being based in the US and warned that people must not forget the tragedy of 9 May— when anti-military riots broke out following Imran Khan’s arrest.
The reaction of the higher judiciary and the army echelons has been intense because, as journalist Matiullah Jan told me, it’s equivalent to a 9/11 for the higher judiciary and a replay of 9 May for the army.
However, it will be very hard for anyone to brush the matter under the carpet as threats and coercion by the military pose a clear and present danger to the polity and the country at large.
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A repeating pattern
The letter by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges is not the first time that the military has been accused of intervening in the working of the judiciary.
In 2018, another now-retired judge of the IHC, Shaukat Siddiqui, levelled similar allegations against then ISI director-general, Lt General Faiz Hameed, accusing him of trying to influence cases pertaining to Nawaz Sharif.
The judge was then removed by then President Arif Alvi on recommendation by the Supreme Judicial Council. In March 2024, the court set aside Siddiqui’s dismissal on the grounds that the allegations were never investigated. Siddiqui had already reached the age of superannuation, but his status was restored to that of a retired judge.
However, there’s a key difference between Siddiqui’s case and this one. While Siddiqui was a single judge, who did not draw a lot of sympathy because of his right-wing tilt, here are six judges, some of whom are quite popular among the liberal segments of the population.
It’s worth noting that Siddiqui did not express sympathy for these judges, instead berating them for not taking his side at his time of trouble. But his claim doesn’t hold water as these judges were appointed in 2021, which means that they were not in a position to write a letter in his support. Instead, Siddiqui’s reaction may have more to do with the fact that he is sympathetic to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and may view the current protest as benefiting PMLN’s rival, the PTI.
The Supreme Court itself seems to be in a bind because taking a serious note of the letter would be tantamount to opening a Pandora’s box. A lot of dirty laundry is likely to get washed as the Supreme Court on Monday decided to take suo motu action to investigate the IHC letter. Such laundry may include, as sources from Pakistan suggest, the old Faizabad sit-in case in which the Chief Justice had given a judgement against former ISI chief Faiz Hameed. However, it will likely want to be careful so as to not overly benefit the PTI.
Imran Khan’s party has already started to capitalise on the issue, claiming that the letter indicates the state’s bias against the PTI. It has also demanded that a full bench of the Supreme Court hear the case.
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What will happen next?
A conflict between a section of the judiciary and the generals is likely to hurt both sides. While this may affect the careers of these six judges, with elevations to the Supreme Court unlikely due to disapproval from the sitting government and some senior judges, the matter cannot be easily brushed under the carpet. This is especially true if there is a second round of allegations, as some media sources I spoke with indicated.
Still, it remains to be seen if the judges will produce evidence of their intimidation as they have been asked to do. This case is a reminder of the intelligence agencies’ history of arm twisting the judiciary. In 2016, for example, a senior Sindh High Court judge’s son was kidnapped. While he was later rescued by the military, with the blame placed on religious extremist terrorists, there was little doubt in the minds of most where the action came from.
What’s for sure is that the matter has tarnished the image of the military and higher judiciary even further. Just weeks ago, vlogger Asad Toor was arrested and jailed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) regarding his claims that senior members of the military and judiciary were involved in influencing cases against the PTI.
Such leaks and letters indicate the workings of a much bigger inter-institutional lobby that has not accepted Imran Khan’s incarceration, the PTI’s forced ouster from power after the 2024 elections, and the current government’s composition. The military’s long-standing narrative of traditional parties and their leaders being corrupt has become deeply ingrained. Putting an end to it has become a difficult task, particularly in this age of technology and social media.
The PTI intends to use the case to push its own narrative of being wronged. The question is, will this naturally lead to a lawyers’ movement, like the one in 2007-08 that contributed to the ouster of military dictator Pervez Musharraf? Unlike that movement, which was spurred by anger over the suspension of then Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, bar associations around the country have not come out in support of the IHC judges. In fact, some issued letters in support of the establishment.
But this does not mean that a lawyers’ protest cannot happen. Only that it might be more organic and less organised. Some lawyers have already started to raise their voices, but their success also hinges on the pushback that the army chief might face from within his own institution.
Unless a way is found to resolve this matter, instability is bound to continue. Though journalists like Zarrar Khuhro claim that nothing much will come out of the case, it will have broader implications especially for the government’s foreign and domestic policy agendas. Any overture toward India, for instance, will have to be done more cautiously so as to not add fuel to the fire.
Ayesha Siddiqa is Senior Fellow at the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London. She is the author of Military Inc. She tweets @iamthedrifter. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)