Pakistani judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, who had spoken against ISI, sacked

Months after alleging that Pakistan’s ISI influenced judicial proceedings in the country, Islamabad High Court judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui has reportedly been sacked. According to reports in Pakistani media, the Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan had recommended his removal as the high court judge.

A report in The Express Tribune said that the council unanimously was of the opinion that Siddiqui’s speech against the ISI on July 21 was unbecoming of a high court judge. The council is headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar.

At an event organised by the Rawalpindi District Bar Association, Siddiqui had said that the security agency wanted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam to remain in jail till the elections in the country, held on July 25, got over.

He had reportedly alleged that the ISI was involved in “manipulating judicial proceedings” and also forming court benches at its will.

According to Siddiqui, the ISI had asked Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi that they did not want Nawaz and Maryam out of prison before elections. They had also allegedly asked the Chief Justice to keep Siddiqui out of the bench hearing the Avenfield case.

The judge was also quoted as saying that Pakistan judiciary is in the control of “those with guns”. Notably, the same judge had alleged the role of the Pakistan Army in a major protest/sit-in organised by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Rawalpindi in 2017.