Pakistani lawyers protest case against top judge

A leading lawyers' association in Pakistan has strongly protested the filing of a misconduct case against Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa, who had been critical of the country's powerful military establishment over its role in an anti-government protest in 2017. In a landmark ruling on February 6, Justice Isa had directed the intelligence services and the military's media office to operate within their legal mandate.

According to The Express Tribune, the ruling was on a suo motu case regarding a sit-in protest in late 2017. Islamist group Tehreek-e Labaik Pakistan (TLP) had paralysed Islamabad and the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi for weeks. Recently, the Pakistan government with the support of military charged the reputed supreme court judge with alleged misconduct.

The government's action against Justice Isa drew strong reactions from the lawyers who maintained that the case against the judge amounts to character assassination and undermines the institution of judiciary in the country. Top lawyers held mass protests across the courts in Lahore and Karachi.

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