Supreme Court’s Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday requested President Arif Alvi to confirm if a reference has been filed against him under Article 209 of the constitution of Pakistan, a private TV channel reported.
“I have come to learn that government sources are stating that a reference has been filed against me under Article 209 of the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I will be obliged if you could let me know whether this is correct, and if it is, to kindly provide me a copy thereof,” Justice Isa said in a letter written to President Alvi.
“I am confident that you will agree that if a reference has been filed and I have been called upon to submit a reply to, only then to the permission of the Supreme Judicial Council, the government may disclose the reference and my response thereto,” he reportedly further wrote in the letter. “Selective leaks amount to character assassination and jeopardise my right to due process and fair trial, and undermines the institution of the judiciary,” the SC judge, who is in line to eventually become chief justice of Pakistan, went on to add in the letter, copies of which were also forwarded to the prime minister and registrar of the Supreme Court.
Reports had emerged on Tuesday that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had filed a misconduct reference against three superior court judges for allegedly holding undeclared foreign properties. President Arif Alvi had reportedly filed the reference against the judges who possessed undeclared foreign properties themselves or through their spouses but allegedly did not declare those properties in their wealth statements. According to the reports, the reference was prepared by the law ministry with the help of a former Supreme Court judge.
However, it couldn’t be confirmed whether the reference had been received by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) as there was no official confirmation from that end. The SJC is the only constitutional authority mandated by Article 209 of the constitution of Pakistan to conduct inquiries into allegations of incapacity or misconduct against a judge of the Supreme Court or of a high court. It comprises chief justice of Pakistan as chairman, two senior most judges of the Supreme Court and two senior most judges of the high courts as members.
Meanwhile, Additional Attorney General Zahid F Ebrahim on Wednesday resigned from his office. Ebrahim’s resignation letter states that persons at the highest level of the government have also confirmed to him that the reference was filed.
The son of renowned lawyer and former SC judge Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, the additional attorney general penned his resignation to President Arif Alvi, maintaining that one of the purported references is against a senior judge of the SC who is widely recognised for his unimpeachable integrity and against whom the government has already set its mind in the much-publicised review petitions in the Faizabad sit-in case filed last month. “In my humble view, this is not about the accountability of judges, but a reckless attempt to tar the reputation of independent individuals and is browbeating the judiciary of Pakistan. Unless resisted, it will cause irreparable damage to the institution which is the protector of our fundamental rights and the bedrock of our fledgling democracy,” he noted in the resignation letter, adding, “I cannot in good conscience continue in office and therefore hereby tender my resignation as the additional attorney general with immediate effect.”
Representatives of the bar councils have started deliberations on their official response to the government’s move. It is learnt that a joint statement by top lawyers of the country may also be issued in favour of the judges.
Balochistan Bar Council member Munir Kakar said they are getting information about the nature of the complaint against the judges. Likewise, a meeting of all representatives of Balochistan bar associations has also been called after Eid to evolve a strategy. “If the government is intending to target any judge due to any of his verdicts, then the legal fraternity will offer strong resistance,” Kakar said, alleging that ‘leftovers’ from the General Musharraf era are now targeting the superior courts judges. “We (lawyers) dealt with them in November 2007 and we are again ready to resist any such move against judiciary now,” he added.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz also condemned the government’s move to file references against superior courts judges. Both separately expressed full support for the judiciary.