Prime Minister Shehbaz has announced the withdrawal of the reference filed against DawnJustice Qazi Faez Isa in Imran Khan’s government.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement where PM Shehbaz stated that Justice Isa and his family were “harassed and defamed” in the name of the reference. He further stated that the reference was unfair and was a vendetta by Imran Khan against a judge who followed the path of the Constitution and the law. PM Shehbaz also said that the reference was a nefarious conspiracy to divide the independence of the judiciary.
PM Shehbaz recalled that the PML-N and allied parties had condemned the move even when in opposition. The statement added that lawyer organizations nationwide, including the Pakistan Bar Council, opposed the reference and asserted their opinion was valued.
The reference against Justice Isa alleged that he acquired three properties in London on lease in the name of his wife and children between 2011 and 2015 but did not disclose them in his wealth returns. Justice Isa contested the allegation, saying he is not a beneficial owner of the flats directly or indirectly.
In June 2020, a 10-member Supreme Court bench threw out the presidential reference against Justice Isa and termed it “invalid.” However, seven of the 10 judges on the bench ordered the Inland Revenue Department and the Federal Board of Revenue to seek explanations from the judge’s wife and children on the nature and source of funding for three properties in their names in the United Kingdom and submit a report to the Supreme Court registrar.
Later in 2021, Justice Isa won a case that set aside the Supreme Court’s directive as mentioned above, after which the entire exercise conducted by the FBR was rendered null and void. However, even when the reference was finally quashed in the second round, i.e., the review petition by Justice Isa, the PTI government instituted a curative review, which was still pending before the Supreme Court.
Imran Khan had expressed regret over the reference and acknowledged that it was an “attempt to confront the judiciary unnecessarily.” However, former law minister Farogh Naseem had brushed aside the blame stating that the reference was moved only on ex-PM Khan’s insistence.
On the other hand, PTI Fawad Chaudhry regretted that Farogh Naseem, the former law minister, should have accepted the responsibility of sending the reference since it was his doing. He had also claimed that being the cabinet minister, he had opposed the filing of the reference against judges and asked that bar associations should move it, but it was on the insistence of Naseem that the reference was sent.
