Lahore High Court Orders PMO To Halt Civil & Military Agencies From Contacting Judges

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the Prime Minister’s Office ( to instruct all civil and military agencies, including Pakistan’s Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to refrain from contacting or approaching any judge or their staff, according to a report by Dawn on Saturday.

Justice Shahid Karim issued these directives in response to a complaint from an anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge in Sargodha, who reported harassment after allegedly refusing to meet with intelligence agency officials, as reported by Dawn.

Karim stated, “Instructions shall go out by the Prime Minister’s Office to all civil or military agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau as well as Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), regarding strict directions not to approach or contact any judge, whether of the superior judiciary, subordinate judiciary, or any member of their staff in the future.”

Similar orders were issued for the Punjab police, requiring them to implement security measures for ATCs across Punjab and to download call-recording applications on their mobile phones. “[They] shall be bound to record all such calls which they receive and with regard to which the learned judges have apprehension that they have been made to influence any judicial proceedings before them,” Karim said.

The complaint from the Sargodha ATC judge involved his first day as in charge on June 7, when he was informed that “some authority of ISI” wanted to meet him in his chamber. After he denied the request, his family faced harassment, including damage to their gas meter and a manipulated electricity bill, according to Dawn.

Previously, on May 7, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail of Pakistan’s apex court criticized the government for not addressing alleged interference in judicial matters, as reported by Pakistan’s Geo News.