JIT formed to probe campaign against judiciary

LAHORE: The government has constituted a six-member high-powered Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to inquire into the trolling against judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on social media and websites and to point out the people involved in launching the campaign against the top judges.

The JIT would be headed by the Additional Director General (Addl. DG), Cyber Crime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) while representatives of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), a 20-Grade officer of Intelligence Bureau (IB) and a high-ranking police officer would be members of the JIT. The Interior Ministry has issued a notification on the set-up of the JIT, the sources said, while a representative of PTA will also be a part of the committee.

According to the notification issued by the Ministry of Interior on Tuesday, under Section 30 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, the JIT will identify the campaigners on social media against the judges. They will also formulate recommendations to prevent such incidents and submit their report to the Ministry of Interior within 15 days. A secretariat of the committee has been established at the FIA headquarters. The terms of reference of the JIT also include ascertaining the facts behind the malicious social media campaign and presentation of challans in the relevant courts.

The legal fraternity rejected the negative criticism being hurled by a specific political group against the superior judiciary, particularly Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa for delivering the judgment on the election symbol of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Addressing a joint press conference here, President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Shahzad Shaukat and Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Haroonur Rashid rejected the negative criticism of a certain political group on the supreme judiciary, especially the Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa. They said decisions are being made by the Supreme Court according to the Constitution and the law and the attitude of criticising the institutions and judges should be stopped.

Haroonur Rashid said that the Supreme Court has issued a decision on the election symbol and a revision petition should be filed against it if there was any legal flaw or gap in the decision. He said the PTI’s lawyers should not make insulting remarks against the judges and added that during the tenure of former Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial, PTI’s petitions were scheduled for hearing at night and decisions at that time were made in favour of PTI, which made them happy. Now the decisions are being made according to the Constitution and law, he said.

Haroon said the PTI organised the ‘so-called’ intra-party election in a small village and barred its members from participating in the elections. He said the powers that brought the PTI chairman to power also sent him back home. Imran Khan, he said, is not a democratic person and that’s why he was sent home through a no-confidence motion.

Speaking on the occasion, Supreme Court Bar Association President Shehzad Shaukat strongly condemned the move to target the judges adding that the attitude of criticising the institutions and judges must be stopped. “We stand by with the judges, the trend of criticising judges should be stopped,” Shaukat said adding that there was an unfortunate tradition of campaigning against judges. Chairman Executive Committee Pakistan Bar Council Hasan Raza Pasha said that morally, the PTI’s electoral symbol of bat should have been given to them, but it was not legally possible to provide relief without holding the intra-party elections. He said the PTI’s lawyers had not prepared for the 9-hour hearing of the case. PTI has the right to file a review petition against the decision. He demanded the FIA to take action against those campaigning against Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa. Rejecting the contents of lawyers bodies news conference, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf spokesman alleged the apex court decision on intra-party polls was flawed and opens the door to a very dangerous distortion in the country’s constitutional and democratic scheme.

Giving his reaction to the press conference of representatives of Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar Association here, the PTI spokesman said his party rejected the ‘political’ press conference of the representatives of PBC and Supreme Court Bar. “PTI conducted the best, most effective and transparent elections out of 175 political parties in the country. Our party held intra-party elections twice in a row on June 8, 2022 and December 2, 2023,” he claimed. Despite serious reservations over the Election Commission’s decision, he noted the PTI held the elections in the presence of the media in Peshawar. He also said the process of intra-party elections continued for at least five days, which was reported on national and social media. The PTI spokesman said the party has elected one of its qualified and capable workers for the post of chairman, burying dynastic politics. The decision to grab the bat symbol, he alleged, was taken in closed rooms a long time ago, which was stamped by the court.

Unfortunately, he charged, the Constitution was violated and the courts were made the target of the worst political revenge, but none of these lawyers’ representatives came to their defence. “The rule of law, the sanctity of the people’s vote and fundamental constitutional rights were denied, but the lawyers representatives showed no remorse. The four provinces and the Centre have been put in the clutches of unconstitutional, illegal, unrepresentative and unelected governments,” he alleged. The PTI spokesman pointed out that none of them (lawyers bodies) came forward for the press conference even after open threats were hurled at the judiciary, especially the judges of the Peshawar High Court. “Today, the country is under a hybrid dictatorship wrapped up in Constitution and democracy, and this group is engaged in unsuccessful attempts to defend extra-constitutional and legal decisions and support the political agenda of the state…,” he maintained. A minority community representing lawyers, he claimed, is leading to the destruction of this great struggle by providing support to open murder of the Constitution and democracy and the nefarious plan of destruction of the judiciary. “We will respond to every overt and covert attack against democracy through constitutional, legal and democratic means of voting on February 8,” the PTI spokesman concluded.