Confronted with a myriad of problems, despondency often sets in to dull the spirit and dilute the passion. But with the first drop of rain wetting a parched land, there is a renewal of resolve that readies you for the next round of struggle with the hope of getting to the finishing line.

The letter written by six honourable justices of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) asking for guidance with regard to “the duty of a judge to report and respond to actions on part of members of the executive, including operatives of intelligence agencies, that seek to interfere with discharge of his/her official functions and qualify as intimidation, as well as the duty to report any such actions that come to his/her attention in relation to colleagues and/or members of the courts that the high court supervises” is like a volcano. Its eruption could transform the face this country has been forced to wear through decades and rekindle hope which has remained doused for long.

Many instances of such interference have been cited in the letter which ends with the prayer that a “judicial commission be called to consider the matter of interference of intelligence operatives with judicial functions and/or intimidation of judges in a manner that undermines independence of [the] judiciary”.

The letter states further that “such institutional consultation might then assist the Supreme Court to consider how best to protect [the] independence of [the] judiciary, put in place a mechanism to affix liability for those who undermine such independence and clarify for the benefit of individual judges the........

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