A major controversy erupted in Pakistan’s judiciary on Saturday after Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri was barred from judicial work, prompting strong condemnation from the Islamabad Bar Council and senior lawyers, who described the move as unprecedented and damaging to the independence of the judiciary.
Addressing a press conference, Islamabad Bar Council member Aleem Abbasi declared that September 14 would be remembered as “one of the darkest days in Pakistan’s judicial history.” Abbasi said it was the first time a judge had been stopped from working by a fellow judge, calling the action unlawful and a dangerous precedent.
“Never before in Pakistan has a judge issued an order to prevent his colleague from performing judicial duties,” Abbasi said. “We are not going into the merits of the case, but nowhere in law is such authority given. If there are questions about a judge’s conduct, the matter must be referred to the Supreme Judicial Council.”
The controversy stems from a case being heard by a bench led by Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar, in which Justice Jahangiri was a respondent. According to Abbasi, the Islamabad High Court had already objected a year earlier that such matters could only be heard by the Supreme Judicial Council. Despite this, the case proceeded, and an order was passed that effectively suspended Justice Jahangiri’s judicial functions.
Abbasi alleged that the decision was politically motivated, claiming Justice Jahangiri was targeted “because he does not deliver decisions over the phone,” a reference to allegations of external pressure on judges. “If judges start stopping each other from working, this will become a daily practice and the judiciary will collapse under jungle law,” he said.
The Bar Council criticized the ruling as a direct violation of constitutional procedure, stressing that under the law, it is the President who refers cases against judges to the Supreme Judicial Council for investigation. Lawyers called for the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the matter, warning that the decision undermines the credibility of the judicial system.
Abbasi announced that the Islamabad District Bar Council had convened a general body meeting and declared a complete strike across the Islamabad High Court and District Courts for Sunday. A protest demonstration is also planned, with lawyers vowing to resist what they described as “the imposition of jungle law through the 26th Amendment.”
“We witnessed today that an order was dictated but never issued. This is an insult to the institution itself,” Abbasi said. “If judges do not respect their colleagues, how can the public respect their judgments? Today’s events are an attack on judicial independence and a stain on Pakistan’s legal system.”
The lawyers concluded that the judiciary must remain independent of government or mafia influence, warning that if this precedent stands, any judge from a sessions court to a high court—could arbitrarily stop another judge from working, plunging Pakistan’s judicial system into chaos.
