ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani high court on Saturday directed the Prime Minister’s Office to instruct all military and civil intelligence agencies against “contacting or approaching” any judges or members of their staff, amid accusations of interference and intimidation by spies in judicial decisions.
The interim order by the Lahore High Court in the central Pakistani province of Punjab comes in the background of several senior judges accusing the military’s premier spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of meddling in judicial proceedings to influence verdicts. The army denies it interferes in political matters. It has so far refrained from commenting on any accusations regarding the ISI’s alleged interference and intimidation.
In the most high-profile accusations, six Islamabad High Court judges earlier this year wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council watchdog and accused the ISI of intimidating and coercing them over legal cases, particularly “politically consequential” ones. The judges provided various examples of alleged interference, including a case concerning Pakistan’s imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan. The letter also mentioned incidents where the judges said their relatives were abducted and tortured and their homes were secretly surveilled, aiming to coerce them into delivering favorable judgments in specific cases.
In the case in which the LHC issued the latest interim order, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) judge in the city of Sargodha had filed a complaint alleging harassment by ISI personnel after he refused a meeting in his chambers.
“Instructions shall go out by the Prime Minister’s Office to all civil or military agencies including the Intelligence Bureau as well as ISI regarding strict instructions not to approach or contact any judge whether of the superior judiciary or sub-ordinate judiciary or any member of their staff in future,” a four-page order by the court, seen by Arab News on Saturday, read.
“Such instruction in clear words and writing shall be placed before this court on the next date of hearing.”
The court also directed all ATC judges across the Punjab province to download call recording applications on their mobile phones.
“They shall be bound to record all such calls which they receive and about which the learned judges have apprehensions that they have been made to influence any judicial proceedings before them,” the interim order said.
In February 2019, the Supreme Court delivered a scathing verdict on the military and intelligence agencies exceeding their mandate and meddling in politics over their handling of protests in 2017 by a religious-political party.
The Supreme Court had been investigating the “Faizabad protest,” which saw a hard-line group paralyze the capital Islamabad over accusations of blasphemy against a sitting minister. The inquiry also looked at the role of security agencies, including in ending the standoff through mediation.
Seven people were killed and nearly 200 wounded when police initially tried but failed to remove protesters.
The military is widely seen to have disagreed with civilian authorities at the time over how to handle the protests. The army’s role particularly came under criticism after video footage shared on social media showed a senior officer from the ISI giving cash to protesters after a deal was struck to end the blockade.
“The involvement of ISI and of the members of the Armed Forces in politics, media and other ‘unlawful activities’ should have stopped,” Supreme Court Justices Mushir Alam and Qazi Faez Isa, now the chief justice of Pakistan, said in their verdict.
“Instead when (protest) participants received cash handouts from men in uniform, the perception of their involvement gained traction.”
In the past, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has also accused the ISI of intimidating court decisions, including those that led to convictions of his elder brother Nawaz Sharif after his ouster from the prime minister’s office in 2017. Ex-PM Imran Khan and his party have also alleged harassment by intelligence agencies.
The powerful army plays an oversized role in Pakistani politics. The country has been ruled by military regimes for almost half its history since independence from Britain in 1947. Khan and the elder Sharif both have alleged that they were ousted by the military after they fell out with the generals. The army denies this.
‘Spies vs jurists’ row: Lahore court directs PM to bar intel agencies from contacting judges
https://arab.news/m8j37
‘Spies vs jurists’ row: Lahore court directs PM to bar intel agencies from contacting judges
- In recent months many judges have accused ISI officials of harassing them and trying to meddle in judicial matters
- Army has so far refrained from commenting on any accusations regarding ISI’s alleged interference and intimidation
Pakistan says repaid over $13.06 billion domestic debt early in last 14 months
- Finance adviser says repayment shows “decisive shift” toward fiscal discipline, responsible economic management
- Says Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over $286.6 billion in June 2025 to $284.7 billion in November 2025
KARACHI: Pakistan has repaid Rs3,650 billion [$13.06 billion] in domestic debt before time during the last 14 months, Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad said on Thursday, adding that the achievement reflected a shift in the country’s approach toward fiscal discipline.
Schehzad said Pakistan has been repaying its debt before maturity, owed to the market as well as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), since December 2024. He said the government had repaid the central bank Rs300 billion [$1.08 billion] in its latest repayment on Thursday.
“This landmark achievement reflects a decisive shift toward fiscal discipline, credibility, and responsible economic management,” Schehzad wrote on social media platform X.
Giving a breakdown of what he said was Pakistan’s “early debt retirement journey,” the finance official said Pakistan retired Rs1,000 billion [$3.576 billion] in December 2024, Rs500 billion [$1.78 billion] in June 2025, Rs1,160 billion [$4.150 billion] in August 2025, Rs200 billion [$715 million] in October 2025, Rs494 billion [$1.76 billion] in December 2025 and $1.08 billion in January 2026.
He said with the latest debt repaid today, the July to January period of fiscal year 2026 alone recorded Rs2,150 billion [$7.69 billion] in early retirement, which was 44 percent higher than the debt retired in FY25.
He said of the total early repayments, the government has repaid 65 percent of the central bank’s debt, 30 percent of the treasury bills debt and five percent of the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) debt.
The official said Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over Rs 80.5 trillion [$286.6 billion] in June 2025 to Rs80 trillion [$284.7 billion] in November 2025.
“Crucially, Pakistan’s debt-to-GDP ratio, around 74 percent in FY22, has declined to around 70 percent, reflecting a broader strengthening of fiscal fundamentals alongside disciplined debt management,” Schehzad wrote.
Pakistan’s government has said the country’s fragile economy is on an upward trajectory. The South Asian country has been trying to navigate a tricky path to economic recovery under a $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
