Daily Times

Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddique has declined an invitation to speak at a workshop titled Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Hull University, United Kingdom.

In a letter to the IHC Chief Justice, he stated that,“there are serious threats to him and his family, and that he does not find it appropriate to leave his family in a state of fear and stress”.The IHC judge has recently been in the media spotlight for talking about external pressures on the judiciary. He had alleged that some verdicts are manoeuvred. The judge’s statement surprised few, but angered many. Since making that statement, it seems that Justice Siddiqui’s might be under some pressure.

However, the threats Justice Siddique is receiving are not isolated events; they represent the danger that people that are part of the judicial process face on a daily basis. Whether it is judges, lawyers, witnesses or court stenographers, they may face serious threats to their lives given the intensity of the cases they are involved in.

In May 2014, Rashid Rehman a well-known human rights lawyer and activist was gunned down; similarly, Aasia Bibi’s lawyer, Saif-ul-Malook, was consistently threatened and harassed by far-right activists. This form of intimidation, harassment, and, at times, even torture, is routine business in Pakistan.

The current situation demands the development of a strong witness protection programme, whereby people linked in any way to judicial processes are provided state protection. Countries all over the world have established such programmes to safeguard the judicial process. This is the only way to ensure that unhindered and undiluted justice is delivered to the citizens.

That Justice Siddiqui was unable to attend a conference that would have strengthened the image of Pakistan’s judiciary internationally is tragic. It is something that the authorities must reflect on and rectify without further delay.  *

Published in Daily Times, August 5^th 2018.