- In letter to IHC CJ, Justice Siddiqui says he cannot go to UK to attend moot as he and his family members are facing life threats
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui has excused himself from attending a workshop in England due to “serious security threats to him and his family”.
In a letter addressed to IHC Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi, Justice Siddiqui cited serious life threats to himself and his family along with the issuance of a fresh show-cause notice by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) as the reasons behind his refusal.
He was nominated by Chief Justice Kasi to attend the workshop, ‘Human Rights and the Rule of Law’, which is to be held at Hull University in Manchester from August 8-18.
On August 1, SJC had served a second show-cause notice to Justice Siddiqui — reportedly over his speech at the district bar of Rawalpindi — in which he was directed to reply by August 28.
He was earlier issued a show-cause notice by the council over his comments on the Faizabad interchange protest.
On July 21, Justice Siddiqui’s remarks had stirred controversy nationwide. While commenting on the matter during a case hearing, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had observed, “I read about the remarks of a judge in Islamabad and was deeply saddened”.
Furthermore, the army had also issued a press release that stated, “An honourable judge of Islamabad High Court of Pakistan has levelled serious allegations against state institutions including honourable judiciary and the premier state intelligence agency.”
“In order to safeguard the sanctity and credibility of the state institutions, Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan has been requested to initiate the appropriate process to ascertain the veracity of the allegations and take actions accordingly,” the press release had said.
Following this, the apex court took a suo motu notice of the matter following which Justice Siddiqui had asked the chief justice to constitute a judicial commission to probe his allegations and offered to resign if he’s proven wrong.
Moreover, in another case, Justice Siddiqui is accused of spending more money on the refurbishment of his official residence than he was entitled to.
A complaint in this regard had been filed with the SJC — which conducts inquiries against judges on charges of misconduct — by a retired employee of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
The SJC is the only constitutional authority mandated by Article 209 of the Constitution of Pakistan to conduct inquiries into allegations of incapacity or misconduct against a judge of the Supreme Court or of a high court.