——— Eight IHC Judges receive ‘threatening letters filled with powder’
——— Suspicious letters handed over to Counter-Terrorism Department for further investigation
——— Shandana Gulzar claims ‘anthrax letter’ to IHC Judges amid at silencing them
ISLAMABAD: Just a day after the Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo motu notice over allegations of the Islamabad High Court’s chief justice and other judges against spy agencies, the IHC chief justice among eight judges received “suspected anthrax-laced letters”.
A police team comprising experts launched a thorough probe to collect facts and ascertain powdery substance after the eight IHC judges received “suspicious letters containing suspected anthrax powder along with a threatening message”.
The letter was sent by a woman namely Resham without mentioning her address, the sources said. They added that a staffer of a judge accidentally dropped the envelope containing the suspicious powdery substance and later he felt extreme irritation in eyes and burns on skin around his lips.
Following the incident, Islamabad Inspector General (IG) and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) police have been summoned to the Islamabad High Court. All suspicious letters have been handed over the police for further investigation.
Subsequently, a case was lodged at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Police Station in the federal capital over complaint of a branch clerk Qadir Ahmed who received and dispatched the post.
The development came just a day after the Supreme Court took suo motu notice and formed a seven-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa to hear the matter after the six IHC judges blamed spy agencies for meddling in judicial affairs.
The seven-member bench will hold the maiden hearing on the issue tomorrow (Wednesday).
Apart from the CJP the bench also comprises Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Jus-tice Athar Minallah, Justice Mussarat Hilali, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.
The explosive letter which surfaced last week triggered a crisis and the Supreme Court led by CJP Isa has been under pressure to hear the matter under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.
Just a day earlier, over 300 lawyers belonging to different bar associations across the country lauded the judges’ and called upon the apex court to hear the matter under its suo motu jurisdictions.
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 Rafat Imtiaz — wrote the letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), urging the body to convene a judicial conven-tion over the alleged interference of intelligence agencies in judicial affairs.
On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shandana Gulzar has said that the suspected anthrax-laced letters to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges were an attempt to silence them.
According to the PTI leader, the whole fiasco resembled the scene of a Bollywood movie in which the perpetrators attempted to frighten the judges by sending threatening letters.
Earlier today, at least eight judges, including the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court reportedly received letters laced with ‘anthrax’. According to court sources, one of the letters was opened by a judge’s staff and was found to contain an unidentified powder.
Upon discovery of the suspicious substance, a team of experts from the Islamabad Police reached the premises of the Islamabad High Court to analyze the situation.
The primary focus of the investigation revolves around determining the nature of the powder and its potential threat.
Court sources disclosed that along with the powder, the letters also contain threatening signs.
As per sources within the court, the letter was written by a woman named Resham, with no specific address indicated.
Shandana Gulzar termed the postponement of the Senate election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a daylight robbery, saying that PTI was asked to give up its seats to opposition parties despite forming a govern-ment in the province.
It is pertinent to mention that the provincial election commissioner postponed the Senate elections in KP following the application of the opposition members.
Provincial Election Commissioner Shamshad Khan after consulting with the CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja announced the postponement of Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The opposition members had moved the ECP as the dispute over the swearing-in of the Khyber Pakh-tunkhwa Assembly’s opposition members elected to reserved seats remained unresolved.
Led by Pakistan People’s Party’s Ahmad Karim Kundi, the opposition highlighted concerns over the non-swearing-in of 25 members, asserting that this could impact the fairness of the electoral process. –Agencies
