PAKISTAN

ISLAMABAD: A flurry of intelligence reports generated during the recent weeks put Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry at risk of being embarrassed by miscreants allegedly paid by the government.

Editor Investigation Ansar Abbasi in his report stated that although authenticity and credibility of such intelligence reports remain in question, some of these reports are really interesting. One such report talks of a government move to organise pro-president and anti-chief justice demonstrations.

Another report talks of a possible assault on the chief justice inside his Court No 1 or even outside to embarrass him. Another report generated by the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) of the interior ministry last month, which warned officials concerned in Islamabad about a “Conspiracy against the government”, said The News/Jang Group was likely to plant a story about the government’s plan to embarrass the chief justice.

The NCMC report, which has as its subject “Conspiracy against the government”, was circulated on January 28 and reads: “A reliable source has revealed Jang/News group is likely to plant a story that the government has planned to embarrass the chief justice of Pakistan. For the purpose some lawyer(s) may physically attack/slap and/or abuse Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in Court No 1.

“This story would be floated in journalist circles and likely to be published by the Jang/News group (most likely in a day or two). This exercise is aimed at creating and accentuating an atmosphere of distrust and hostility between the government and the judiciary. “2. The government should pre-empt such a move, asking authorities in the information ministry for the needful.”

The NCMC report was dated January 28, the day when the crime reporter of The News Shakeel Anjum, while quoting an intelligence report, reported a government-sponsored group of miscreant lawyers was preparing to create disorder and chaos in Court Room No 1 presided over by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry during proceedings on any contempt of court case.

“The objective behind the ‘plan’ is to cause embarrassment to the chief justice and show defiance to the apex court decisions, The News has learnt on good authority,” the report said.

The News report said the intelligence report was submitted to the interior ministry. The News report added: “The interior ministry has issued orders to take ‘stringent’ preventive measures to foil any such bid inside the Court Room No 1, which, if happened, will only trigger yet another conflict between the government and the judiciary, which already have strained relations in the wake of the apex court verdict on the NRO.”

According to Shakeel Anjum, a day before the story was published, i.e., January 27, he had talked to a top police official of the Islamabad Capital Administration, who had confirmed the receipt of the intelligence report and had also revealed he already had a meeting with the interior minister on the subject. There was no mention of any conspiracy against the government or the involvement of the Jang Group in such a “conspiracy”.

However, a day later, the NCMC circulated the report about the “conspiracy against the government”. According to another intelligence report on February 14, 2010, a central woman leader of the PPP met two ex-student leaders of the Quaid-i-Azam University belonging to the PSF, the student wing of the PPP, in the parliament loges and were assigned the task of coordinating with students of educational institutions and universities in Islamabad to arrange student protests in favour of the president and against the chief justice.

The report alleged the student leaders were also paid Rs0.5 million for the job. The names and mobile numbers of the two students were also given in the report.

When approached by The News, the students admitted to have organised such demonstrations but denied to have received money or had done so on the direction of any of their central leader. One of these students said that it was their own decision to hold a demonstration in support of the political mandate given to the president by the people of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, an Islamabad police source confided to The News some top police officials of the ICT were invited by a powerful minister recently at his residence and it was suggested to them to put men of special branch in the CJP’s squad. The source alleged it was suggested to facilitate some sponsored people to create embarrassing scenes for the chief justice in public places or in the courtroom.