ISLAMABAD: The federal government today (Thursday) has rejected former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s allegations against “certain officers of the state”, terming them “baseless”.
A five-judge larger bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial is hearing the former judge’s plea against his removal. Additional Attorney General (AAG) Sohail Mahmood submitted a one-page statement on behalf of the federal government in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
“As specific allegations about certain officers of the state were made in the petition and read out in court, on instructions it is placed before this court that the allegations made are baseless, misleading and therefore denied,” read the statement.
Justice Siddiqui was removed from the high judicial office on the recommendation of the SJC under Article 209 of the Constitution for “displaying a conduct unbecoming of a judge” for his speech at the Rawalpindi bar association.
The former judge had accused certain officers of the ISI of interfering in the judiciary’s affairs. He alleged that the accused “manipulate the formation” of benches in high courts.
During the hearing of the case on June 8, senior counsel Hamid Khan, representing the former judge, read out his client’s reply in response to the July 31, 2018, show-cause notice by the SJC in which he openly named incumbent Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general and then-DG counter intelligence Lt Gen Faiz Hameed for making visits to him (Siddiqui) to allegedly influence judicial proceedings.
