ISLAMABAD -UNS: Islamabad police on Tuesday filed a case on terror charges after all eight judges of the high court received threatening letters laced with a “white powder”.
The first information report (FIR) was registered at the capital’s Counter Terrorism Department police station on the complaint of duty clerk Qadeer Ahmed under Section 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
In the FIR, a copy Ahmed said he worked at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and eight letters were received a day ago for each of the court’s judges, including Chief Justice (CJ) Aamer Farooq. He said that the letters were dispatched today and received by the personal secretaries of the judges.
He said the sender was stated as a woman named Resham but there was no address mentioned. Qadeer said that shortly after, he was alerted that there was a “chemical powder” found in one of the letters. He added that the judges’ staff were subsequently instructed to not open the remaining letters.
He said the police were immediately informed about the matter, adding that the sender had attempted to influence judicial decisions by spreading “fear and harassment”.
Ahmed went on to say that police personnel reached the IHC around 2pm and seized all of the letters, four of which had been opened by this time while the remaining four were sealed. He said that a “white powder” was found in the unsealed envelopes.
He said that a police team arrived to conduct an initial analysis of the powder. The complainant said the content of the letters that had been opened referred to an outfit, Tehreek Namoos-i-Pakistan, and criticised the judicial system and used the word “Bacilus Anthracis” to issue a threat.
The anthrax germ Bacillus Anthracis sickens and causes death by proliferating in the bloodstream, where it releases powerful toxins. Infection is usually treated by a long course of antibiotics.
CJ Farooq had referred to the incident earlier today while hearing PTI founder Imran Khan’s appeal against his conviction in the cipher case. During the hearing, he had said the issue was one of the reasons for a delay in the proceedings.
“Basically the high court has been threatened,” the IHC chief justice had remarked.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad police said an investigation into the “threatening letters” has begun and would be completed soon by using all available resources.
The PTI also demanded an “immediate and comprehensive investigation” into the matter, saying the incident was “clearly intended to intimidate” the IHC judges.
