ISLAMABAD: A commission set up by the government to investigate the killing of journalist Saleem Shahzad was mired in controversy, similar to the one which had erupted after the formation of committee on the covert US attack on Abbottabad.

The five-member commission announced on Thursday is headed by Supreme Court’s Justice Saqib Nisar, but questions have been raised whether this can be done without the consent of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The earlier commission headed by Justice Javed Iqbal had raised similar questions and it is yet to hold its first meeting. According to a handout issued by the ministry of law, justice and parliamentary affairs, subject to acceptance, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar will head the Saleem Shahzad commission and Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan, additional inspector general (investigation) of Punjab police, deputy inspector general of Islamabad police and president of the Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) will be its members.

Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan announced the commission in the early hours of Thursday during a visit to a protest camp set up by journalists in front of the Parliament House.     She said she had got the summary signed by the prime minister in the middle of the night.

When asked why had the government announced the commission without consulting the Supreme Court, she said: “Under the law the government is not bound to do so.”

When pressed, she said let there be a formal challenge to this right of the government and “we will respond”.

But in a hard-hitting statement, the Supreme Court Bar Association’s chief Asma Jehangir said the government was committing undue interference in affairs of the superior judiciary.

Ms Jehangir, who had been branded a pro-government candidate when she was contesting the SCBA election last year, said that by constituting the commission the government intended to exploit the journalists’ cause in its favour and to justify thecommission set up earlier on the Abbottabad incident.

“It is an absolutely wrong way to set up an investigation commission involving a judge of the Supreme Court without consulting the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

“The government just cannot disturb benches of the apex court by picking judges of its choice to head such commissions.”

She advised the government to follow the established criterion through the office of the chief justice.

According to TV channels, Justice Saqib, who is at present in Lahore, has made his acceptance to head the commissionconditional to approval by the chief justice.

Barrister Zafarullah Khan, a Supreme Court lawyer, said that under the Commission of Inquiry Act of 1956 quoted in the handout, the government had the right to constitute an inquiry commission. However, he said, the law ensured separation of powers among the judiciary, executive and legislature, and the prime minister’s secretariat needed to consult the chief justice’s office before setting up such a commission. “This is the convention and this is the right procedure,” he said.

Barrister Khan said the government could have avoided the controversy by writing a letter to the court’s registrar and asking about the availability of the judge to head the commission. He said the government had triggered another controversy instead of addressing a genuine demand of the journalist community.

Supreme Court Registrar Dr Faqir Hussain, when asked why the court had not reacted to the setting up of the Abbottabad commission, said Justice Javed Iqbal himself had given a statement. About the latest controversy, Dr Hussain said it was up to the judge concerned to react.

According to the terms of reference of the new commission, it will inquire into the background and circumstances of the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Saleem Shahzad, identify the culprits and recommend measures to prevent recurrence of such gruesome incidents against journalists.

The commission shall commence inquiry immediately and submit its report within six weeks. The ministry of information and broadcasting will provide secretarial support to the commission.