ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Babar Sattar, who was one of the judges who wrote a letter to the chief justice over interference of intelligence operatives in judicial affairs, has proceeded on a month-long leave shortly after resuming his duties following summer vacation.

Sources told Dawn that the judge applied for leave on Thursday and the same was approved by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and a notification to this effect was sent to the Ministry of Law And Justice, secretaries to the chief justice and Justice Sattar, registrar, additional registrars and deputy registrars and Accountant General Pakistan Revenue.

Even though the notification mentioned the leave for one month with effect from Sept 30 to October 29, sources told Dawn that it was extendable leave and the judge may extend it till December. On Thursday, Justice Sattar adjourned hearings in most cases till December.

When a lawyer requested the court to fix the hearing in November, the judge replied that he would not be available this month. As speculation swirled following the judge’s decision to go on leave, sources told Dawn that Justice Sattar had taken a month-long leave in July of this year when he left Pakistan.

A day earlier, Justice Sattar had taken exception to the role of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in nominating defence analysts. The development came to light on Tuesday when the IHC issued an order about a case that challenged Pemra’s directives mandating retired officers to seek permission from the ISPR before appearing on television.

Insiders say judge may not be available in November either

Earlier this year, the judge was part of a six-strong clique that sent a letter detailing harassment at the hands of the intelligence operatives. Justice Sattar is also hearing the audio leak case in which state agencies are accused of snooping on citizens in an unlawful manner.

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During the course of this case, the existence of a mass surveillance system ‘Lawful Intercept Management System’ to keep tabs on citizens was revealed.

In the same case, the judge filed a complaint before the IHC Chief Justice and pointed out that he was being targeted because of his stance in the audio leaks case.

Justice Sattar had requested IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq to initiate contempt proceedings after personal details of his and his family, including their US residence permits, were posted online. The judge pointed out that the privacy of his family members was breached, and their identity cards and permanent residency cards were uploaded on social media.

Subsequently, the IHC directed the Federal Investigation Agency to proceed against the persons identified for spreading the personal data of Justice Babar Sattar on social media.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2024