IHC CJ Aamer Farooq, photo courtesy Islamabad High Court
The Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) on Sunday slammed an ongoing “malicious” social media campaign against IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, as the Ministry of Law and Justice warned political parties against targeting state institutions.
The condemnations followed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), through its official account on X—formerly Twitter—describing Justice Farooq as a “hypocrite” and spearheading a campaign to deride him and accuse him of facilitating party chief Imran Khan’s “abduction.” As part of this campaign, the party and its supporters have shared offensive hashtags; posts; and videos with an intent to malign the senior judge. Observers have warned the campaign appears designed to pressure the judge, who is currently hearing a petition of the PTI chief seeking the suspension of his three-year prison term following a conviction for “corrupt practices” by a trial court. This, say legal experts, could be constituted as contempt of court.
In its statement, the Law Ministry described the social media campaign against the IHC CJ by a political party as reprehensible. While it did not identity the PTI by name, it said the party in question was using derogatory language against both Justice Farooq as well as the judiciary at large.
Separately, the IHCBA issued a strong condemnation of the malicious campaign against the IHC CJ Farooq, stressing the judge was known for his integrity, impartiality, competence and adherence to merit. Noting that such campaigns were an attempt to lower the stature of distinguished judges and shake public confidence in the judiciary, it demanded that all those responsible for it be brought to justice.
Penned by IHCBA President Naveed Malik, the statement said the Bar was “determined not to allow such malicious attempts to succeed at any cost.” Urging authorities to take swift and decisive action against the people responsible—though it did name single out any party or individual—it said the “real motives and misinformation efforts” should also be made public.