In his rejoinder to the government’s statement, Justice Qazi Faez Isa Monday stated that he is not bound to furnish the money trail of the properties owned by his family members as they are no longer his dependents, a private TV channel reported.
According to the judge, he owns a home of 1600 square yards in Karachi that has been empty for the past 10 years as he has taken up state residences in his capacity as a judge. He said he has no properties in London or any other country outside Pakistan, and also noted that contrary to reports, his wife does not hold dual citizenship.
With regards to the properties under question, Justice Isa said that the first property was bought for Rs 20.6 million in 2004, while the other two in 2013. He maintained that the prices of all three properties together are lower than a one kanal house in the posh areas of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
Justice Isa also objected to the attorney general submitting response on behalf of the Supreme Judicial Council. “It is a violation of the constitution, the attorney general only advises the federal government on legal matters,” the judge said in his reply.
The counsel for Justice Isa told the Supreme Court that the ‘inconvenient truth and observations’ in Faizabad sit-in judgement were the reason for the presidential reference against the top court judge.
A 10-judge full court led by Justice Umar Ata Bandial resumed hearing on a set of petitions challenging the presidential reference filed against Justice Isa over alleged non-disclosure of assets in his wealth statement. During the hearing, Muneer A Malik noted that a particular mindset was targeting the top court judge through coordinated efforts after the Faizabad sit-in verdict. Malik recalled that the apex court’s February 6 judgement had questioned the role of security agencies in the Faizabad sit-in agreement between the government and hardline religious elements. “Eight review petitions were filed against the SC decision. The petitions were part of a coordinated exercise as they stated that the judgment ‘demoralised’ the armed forces,” he said. He pointed out that the content of review petitions filed by the ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and its ally, Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan (MQM-P), was the same. “They both accused the top court judge of ‘misconduct’ for giving observations against the security establishment. The review petitions, filed in March, are still pending. In April, a complaint was filed in the Asset Recovery Unit alleging non-disclosure of foreign assets in the wealth statement of Justice Isa,” Malik informed the full bench. Furthermore, he highlighted that the petitions had not been fixed for hearing despite the passage of seven months. Justice Bandial said that whenever review petitions would be heard, Justice Isa would be part of the bench. Noting that the case pertained to the accountability of judges, Malik stressed on the ‘visible and invisible pressure’ on judges to ‘change their views’.
The hearing witnessed chaos when a lawyer, Ajmal Mahmood, took the rostrum to inquire about a misconduct complaint he had filed against Justice Bandial before the Supreme Judicial Council. He questioned how Justice Bandial could be hearing cases when a complaint was pending against him.
Supreme Court Bar Association President Amanullah Kanrani attempted to resolve the matter by asking the lawyer to leave the rostrum. Justice Bandial said the misconduct complaint against him had already been dismissed by the SJC. He did not issue a contempt notice to the lawyer. The hearing was adjourned till Tuesday (today).
