Is ISI behind social media fire against HC judges?

By Editor May15,2024 #ISI

As the Islamabad High Court (IHC) began contempt proceedings over a smear social media campaign against senior judges, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani suggested on Tuesday that either “state institutions might have leaked confidential data or their systems were hacked.”

An IHC larger bench, led by Justice Kayani and including Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, commenced contempt proceedings related to the smear campaign against Justice Babar Sattar.

The high court had formed two separate benches on May 8 after Justices Sattar and Kayani wrote to IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, seeking contempt proceedings against those involved in leaking personal details and running a malicious social media campaign. Addressing the state counsel, Justice Kayani remarked that they were initiating contempt proceedings in the case. He noted that specific Twitter (now X) accounts and hashtags were involved in disseminating data and running the smear campaign.

“This is all being done to mount pressure on a judge [Justice Sattar], who is hearing a case,” remarked Justice Kayani. He added that it was alarming that confidential data about the jurist, his family, and his children were made public—information that should not be accessible to just anyone. Justice Kayani further suggested that state institutions might have leaked the data, or their systems could have been hacked. He emphasized that it wouldn’t be difficult to trace the source of the data leak.

Justice Kayani criticized the invocation of “5th-generation warfare,” questioning why only jurists in the country were targeted. He mentioned that the investigation would determine the origins of the “Pakistan Lawyers Forum” and identify the operators of its account.

The senior judge asserted that uncovering the truth would prevent any individual or institution from accessing jurists’ private information. He added that no one should have the audacity to target judges.

Justice Kayani issued notices to the Attorney General’s office, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra). He announced that the IHC would summon reports from all these institutions and also issue a notice to the defense secretary.

Expressing strong disapproval of the social media campaign against jurists, Justice Kayani stated that such actions would not be tolerated on any media platform—social, print, or electronic. He warned that the scope of contempt proceedings would be expanded to include “high office” if anyone attempted to approach the judges improperly.

In a separate case, another IHC larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Farooq, heard the contempt case related to the social media campaign against Justice Kayani. The IHC Chief Justice issued notices to Advocate Waqas Malik, journalists Matiullah Jan, and Talat Hussain, as well as the top electronic media authority. The court appointed senior anchorperson Hamid Mir, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) president, and lawyers Ahmed Hasan and Ahmer Bilal Advocate as amici curiae. Additionally, Pemra was ordered to provide a transcript of the TV show discussing the matter. The hearing was then adjourned for two weeks.

May 15, 2024

Source: The News International

By Editor

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