Supreme Court senior judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa clarified on Friday that the notion of him fostering internal factions within the court was “factually incorrect,” dispelling rumors about rifts in the judiciary.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s statement emerged in response to misinterpretations of a video clip from the oath-taking ceremony of the Federal Shariat Court’s chief justice held the previous day.
In the video clip circulating on social media, Justice Isa appeared not to greet Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial during the event, where Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rahman was sworn in as the chief justice of the Shariat Court.
Justice Isa clarified: “Following the ceremony’s conclusion, I first congratulated Justice Bandial’s wife, during which I also greeted Justice Bandial.” He added that he later proceeded to greet Justice Rahman and then conversed with Dr. Syed Muhammad Anwer, a former Aalim judge of the FSC, during which Justice Bandial approached him as well.
Refuting the misinformation, Justice Isa stated: “A clip taken at this moment falsely suggests that I did not greet Justice Bandial, although I had just done so a few minutes earlier.”
He explained, “I turned because Justice Rahman’s wife wished to introduce me to some of her family members.”
Justice Isa expressed his disappointment over erroneous interpretations circulated in the media, urging that the propagation of factually incorrect narratives should be discouraged as they “cause unnecessary and avoidable misgivings and harm.”
Quoting from the Holy Quran, Justice Isa emphasized the importance of verifying information before spreading it. He affirmed his commitment to uphold the Constitution of Pakistan and expressed disapproval of any attempts to twist facts for controversy.
He said, “Let us not be detracted; let us work together to build a strong judicial system that focuses on the administration of expeditious justice.”