Pakistan Judges Receive 'Poisoned' Letters Over 'Rescuing Evil', Probe On As Mystery Deepens

After the High Court judges of Islamabad and Lahore received threatening "white powder" letters, similar letters arrived at the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Read on to know more.

File Photo Of Lahore High Court

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A day after the Pakitsan's Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Lahore High Court (LHC) judges received letters laced with "white powders", similar letters were sent to the Supreme Court by an unknown group on Thursday, Dawn reported. Earlier, all eight chief justices of the Islamabad High Court received similar letters. A similar incident was reported in the Lahore High Court, where three judges received "poisoned" letters. Investigations into the matters are underway.

As per the report, the letters sent by an unknown group threatened the judges of the apex court for "rescuing evil". The letters were sent to the judges by two senders, as per the report, the addresses were not mentioned. 

The incident has prompted the Counter Terrorism Department of the country to register two cases in Islamabad and Lahore. 

The senior authorities have taken the letters into custody and launched an investigation. After the incident, the security of the LHC judges has been increased. The report further said that the police took the employee of the courier company who delivered the letter into custody. He has been shifted to an undisclosed location for further questioning.

Dawn in its report has speculated that the white powder can be anthrax. "The powder has been sent to a laboratory for examination whether it is anthrax," a Punjab police spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Pakistani national daily.

Islamabad High Court Judges Receive Letters Laced With ‘White Powder’

All eight judges of the Islamabad High Court received “suspected anthrax-laced letters,” Dawn reported.  

It is to be noted that the threatening letters surfaced after the top Pakistani Court took suo motu notice and formed a seven-member bench chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa to hear the plea of six IHC justices who accused spy agencies, including ISI, of interfering in judicial matters.

According to Dawn's report, the IHC judges had alleged that their bedrooms were bugged, and their relatives were abducted and tortured by the intelligence agencies’ personnel to get desired verdicts.

Imran's Party Demands Probe

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demanded a thorough and immediate investigation into the matter.

A PTI spokesperson, cited by news agency PTI, said that prima facie, the letters containing deadly. He further said that poisonous substances were intended to intimidate the judges.

“Special measures should be taken for the safety and security of the judges and their families,” he told PTI.

The party leader also urged Pakistan's Chief Justice to refer the letters to the full court without further delay to take the matter to its logical conclusion through open proceedings to ensure judicial independence and protect judges from bullying and threats.