FIR registered about threatening letters sent to IHC judges

ISLAMABAD: A First Information Report (FIR) was filed regarding the suspected threatening letters sent to the judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday.

The FIR was lodged based on the complaint of IHC clerk Qadeer Ahmed at the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police station.

Ahmed stated in his complaint that he had distributed at least eight letters placed in envelopes addressed to IHC judges. However, he received a warning from court employee Qamar Khursheed via telephone, advising him against opening the envelopes as they allegedly contained a chemical.

Following this warning, all readers at the court were instructed not to open the envelopes. Upon opening four of the envelopes later, they discovered “white powder” inside. The contents of the envelopes criticized the justice system while referring to the “Tehreek-e-Namoos-e-Pakistan”.

Earlier that day, reports emerged that eight judges, including the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court, had received letters containing ‘anthrax’.

One of the letters, when opened by a judge’s staff, was found to contain an unidentified powder. In response, a team of experts from the Islamabad Police arrived at the Islamabad High Court premises to analyze the situation, with the primary focus of the investigation being to determine the nature of the powder and assess any potential threat.

Court sources also revealed that along with the powder, the letters contained threatening content. It was indicated by sources within the court that the letter was authored by a woman named Resham, with no specific address provided.

The Islamabad High Court garnered attention after six serving judges wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), urging it to convene a judicial convention to address concerns regarding “interference of intelligence agencies with judicial functions”.

This action was taken following the Supreme Court’s March 22 judgment on Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s dismissal case.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa took suo moto notice of the letter from IHC judges, in which they alleged interference by intelligence agencies.

A seven-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, including Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Musarrat Hilali, and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, is scheduled to conduct a hearing on the case on Wednesday.